Half of Pinoys think publishing anything critical of Duterte admin is dangerous

MANILA — At least half of adult Filipinos agree that it is dangerous to print or broadcast anything critical of the Duterte administration, according to the results of a Social Weather Stations survey released Friday.

Based on a mobile phone survey conducted between July 3 to 6, a total of 51% of respondents agree with the statement, "It is dangerous to print or broadcast anything critical of the administration, even if it is the truth."

Of which correctly rounded, 23% strongly agree and 27% somewhat agree.

Meanwhile, 30% disagree and another 18% said they are undecided.

This gave an overall net agreement score of +21 (percent who agree minus percent who disagree), which is classified as moderate.

The SWS also reported a stronger net agreement among those who say Congress' non-renewal of the ABS-CBN franchise is a major blow to press freedom, those who live in Mindanao and the Visayas and among the less educated.

A total of 1,555 adult Filipinos participated nationwide in the SWS survey through mobile phone and computerassisted telephone interviewing, including 306 in Metro Manila, 451 in the rest of Luzon, 388 in the Visayas and 410 in Mindanao.

Sampling error margins were reported at ±2% for national percentages, ±6% for Metro Manila, ±5 for Balance Luzon, ±5% for the Visayas, and ±5% for Mindanao.

This came as more human rights defenders and civil society groups ask the Supreme Court to nullify the muchfeared Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.