‘Climate of fear’and EJK

THE extra-judicial killings (EJK) in the administration’s campaign against illegal drugs have spawned a climate of fear among Filipinos, a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey said.

In the Fourth Quarter 2016 SWS findings on the war on drugs and on EJK, eight of 10 of the respondents’ surveys said they are worried about becoming victims of EJK.

Of this, 45 percent were very worried, 33 percent were somewhat worried, while 10 percent said they were not too worried and 12 percent were not at all worried.

*** The same survey showed that seven of 10 Filipinos said EJK was a serious problem in the current administration.

Of this 39 percent said EJK was very serious, 30 percent said it was somewhat serious, 22 percent was undecided, while six percent believe it was “somewhat not serious” and, three percent said it was “not serious at all.”

Do they believe the police told the truth the suspects they killed resisted arrest? Forty two percent were undecided, 19 percent said it was “probably the truth;” 13 percent believe it was “probably not the truth;” 16 said it was “definitely not the truth” and nine percent said it was “definitely the truth.” *** But lo and behold, 53 percent majority of the Filipinos said they were “very satisfied” with the performance of the administration in its campaign against illegal drugs.

Of these 32 percent were “somewhat satisfied” seven percent were undecided; five percent were somewhat dissatisfied and three percent were very dissatisfied.

Yet, President Rody Duterte said the police had barely scratched the surface of the drug problem in the country.

*** PNP chief Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa’s Christmas wish was for the public to pray for forgiveness for him and the country’s policemen for the killings in the war on drugs.

“The gift I’m asking for is that you pray for us, for your loved ones, the police force, that the Lord forgive us for those who were killed in the war on drugs,” he said.

But the anti-drug war, he said, will go on. So do with the killings.