88% support drug war but 73% believe EJKs — new Pulse Asia survey

MAJORITY OF respondents in a new survey support President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s drug war despite their belief that extrajudicial killings (EJKs) are also committed in the course of that campaign.

Pulse Asia’s latest Ulat ng Bayan national survey, conducted Sept. 24- 30, showed that only 20% of Filipinos do “not believe” that EJKs do not happen in the course of the drug war, whereas 73% “believe” otherwise.

The polling group said “agreement with this view becomes slightly more pronounced” by 6 percentage points compared with the 67% in Pulse Asia’s survey last June, while “disagreement eases markedly” by 9 percentage points. Around 7% “refused to answer” on this matter, compared with 4% last June.

Despite that, 88% support the drug war —with 41% saying they “truly support” it while 47% said they “support” the campaign.

“Basically the same levels of support obtain[ ed] across geographic areas and socioeconomic groupings (84% to 94% and 80% to 89%, respectively),” Pulse Asia said. Alongside this support, the view affirming EJKs is “echoed by majorities in all areas and classes (67% to 78% and 70% to 77%, respectively).

KIAN DELOS SANTOS

Awareness of the drug war is 100% across all areas and classes as of September, compared with June when awareness ranged between 98% (Luzon, classes ABC and E), 99% (Class D), and 100% ( Visayas, Mindanao, and the National Capital Region [NCR]).

Awareness regarding Kian delos Santos — the teenager whose Aug. 16 murder in the hands of Caloocan City police marked a turn in the drug war — had a somewhat broader range of 90% in Mindanao and among Class E, to 91% in the Visayas, 94% among Class D, 96% in Luzon, 97% among Classes ABC, and 98% in NCR.

On the face of respondents’ majority support for the drug war, 76% nationwide are worried (with 43% very worried and 34% somewhat worried) that “what happened to Kian delos Santos and others similar to him may happen to you, any member of your family, your relatives or acquaintances because of the operations against illegal drugs....” — with