7 in 10 Pinoys satisfied with Mautes’ defeat

Seven in every 10 Filipinos have expressed satisfaction with the way the Duterte administration quelled terrorism in Marawi City, according to a survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS).

More than half of the figure believed the military could defeat the Maute terrorists even without martial law.

The SWS poll, conducted from Sept. 23 to 27, showed 66 percent of Filipino adults were satisfied with the government’s action in suppressing the Mautes, while 18 percent were dissatisfied and 16 percent undecided.

The result yielded a net satisfaction rating of +48, which the SWS classified as “good.”

Duterte declared the liberation of Marawi on Oct. 17, or after four months of battling Mautes.

Net satisfaction with the government’s anti-terror efforts remained “very good” in Metro Manila at +54 in September, although it was down from +68 in June.

It was also “very good” in Mindanao at +54, despite dropping four points from +58 in June.

In the Visayas, satisfaction rating remained good at +49, or up by three points from +46 in June. It also stayed good in balance Luzon at +42, barely up from +41 in June.

Net satisfaction with the government’s anti-terror action was also “very good” among members of the Iglesia ni Cristo at +57 as well as in other religious groups at +65, except for the Roman Catholics and Muslims – which were good at +48 and a neutral +3, respectively.

Meanwhile, 54 percent of Filipinos agreed that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) could defeat the Mautes even without the martial law declaration, while 25 percent disagreed and 22 percent were undecided.

This resulted in a net agreement rating of +29, which the SWS classified as moderately strong, below the very strong +32 in June.

Net satisfaction in the AFP ’s capability to defeat the Mautes and Abu Sayyaf bandit group was highest in the Visayas at +36, up by 17 points from the moderately strong +19 in June.

It fell by one grade from a very strong +36 to moderately strong +24 in Metro Manila as well as in Mindanao from +34 to +29.

It also dropped from a very strong +34 to moderately strong +27 in balance Luzon.

The non-commissioned survey used face-to-face interviews of 1,500 adults aged 18 years and above nationwide.

It has a sampling error margin of plus or minus three points for national percentages.