At least 47 percent, or nearly half of adult Filipinos, think that it is dangerous to criticize the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., says a survey by Social Weather Stations (SWS) released on Tuesday, May 9.
Survey results show that more Filipinos agree that it is dangerous to publish or broadcast anything unfavorable against the Marcos Jr. administration (47%) than those who said they were undecided (27%) or disagreed (26%).
In a statement, SWS said the survey, which was conducted in December last year, is part of its monitoring of Filipinos’ quality of life.
“This year’s special 30th-anniversary celebration of World Press Freedom Day (on May 1) calls to recenter press freedom, as well as independent, pluralistic, and diverse media, as key to the enjoyment of all other human rights,” read the pollster’s statement.
The survey found 47% of adult Filipinos agreeing (19% strongly agree, 28% somewhat agree), 27% undecided, and 26% disagreeing (14% somewhat disagree, 12% strongly disagree) that “It is dangerous to print or broadcast anything critical of the administration, even if it is the truth.”
The resulting net agreement score of +20 (% agree minus % disagree, correctly rounded), classified by SWS as moderate, is 4 points below the moderate +24 (46% agree, 22% disagree) in December 2021.
Net danger in publishing things critical of the administration falls in all areas except in Mindanao
Net agreement that “It is dangerous to print or broadcast anything critical of the administration, even if it is the truth” was highest in Metro Manila (+28), followed by the Visayas (+23), Balance Luzon (+21), and Mindanao (+13).
Compared to December 2021, the net agreement score fell from strong to moderate in Metro Manila, down from +41 (59% agree, 18% disagree) to +28 (53% agree, 25% disagree).
It also fell from strong to moderate in the Visayas, down from +36 (54% agree, 18% disagree) to +23 (47% agree, 25% disagree, correctly rounded).
It stayed moderate in Balance Luzon, hardly moving from +23 (44% agree, 21% disagree) to +21 (46% agree, 26% disagree, correctly rounded).
However, it rose from neutral to moderate in Mindanao, up from +7 (36% agree, 28% disagree, correctly rounded) to +13 (43% agree, 29% disagree, correctly rounded).
Net danger in publishing things critical of the administration stayed moderate in all educational levels except among college graduates.
