A slim majority of Filipinos – 51percent – believe former president Rodrigo Duterte should be held accountable for the thousands of killings of suspected drug users and pushers during his presidency.
So says the latest survey from the Social Weather Stations (SWS), conducted from February 15 to 19.
The survey was commissioned by the Stratbase Consultancy. It further showed that 25 percent disagreed, 14 percent were undecided, and 10 percent said they did not know enough to give an opinion.
Malacañang said it was pleased that the majority of Filipinos agreed that Duterte should answer for the extra-judicial killings that took place when he was mayor and later president of the Philippines.
Government estimates state that around 6,000 mostly young men were killed, while human rights groups say the total may be as high as 30,000.
Speaking in the vernacular, Presidential Communications Office Undersec. Claire Castro said the Marcos administration was happy that the people were in agreement with what the government was doing.
Support for accountability was highest in the Visayas –- considered a Duterte stronghold – where 62 percent agreed, followed by the rest of Luzon except Metro Manila at 49 percent, Mindanao at 47 percent, and the National Capital Region at 45 percent.
SWS had asked 1,800 respondents: “How much do you agree or disagree that former president Rodrigo Duterte should be held accountable for the killings related to illegal drugs during his administration?”
The respondents were all registered voters and the survey had a plus and minus margin of error of 2.31 percent.
Rural respondents were more likely to support Duterte’s accountability at 52 percent compared to urban areas at 48 percent.
Despite the thousands of suspects killed, the International Criminal Court (ICC) only charged Duterte with 43 extra-judicial killing cases, as these were deemed the ones where the evidence was strongest.
Although Duterte has been the only suspect arrested, the ICC is said to be preparing warrants for between nine and 11 other suspects, with Sen. Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa being the most prominent.
Duterte was charged with crimes against humanity committed between November 1, 2011 and March 16, 2019, when the Philippines was still a member of the ICC.
The ICC had tasked the International Police or Interpol to serve the warrant of arrest to Duterte when the former president arrived from Hong Kong last week. The ex-president was then whisked off to The Netherlands on a chartered flight.
Duterte arrived in The Hague on March 12 and was turned over to the ICC Detention Center in Scheveningen. The ICC scheduled the next hearing on September 23 to confirm the charges against him.
Castro said Malacañang wanted to address the fake news surrounding Duterte’s arrest. The former president and his followers insist that he was kidnapped and that his arrest was therefore illegal.
Various false reports have been circulating since the arrest, including one that said the Supreme Court had issued a temporary restraining order against the arrest.
Malacañang has also reminded Duterte’s daughter, Vice-president Sara Duterte-Carpio, of her duties after she followed her father to The Hague.
She said she was only doing her duties of protecting the rights of Filipinos anywhere in the world.
More recently, VP Duterte-Carpio said she believed the chances of her father being brought back to the Philippines are practically nil.
