The poll conducted from June 27 to 30, 2018 showed that 78% of the respondents said they were satisfied with the efforts of President Duterte to weed out illegal drugs. This equates to almost 8 in 10 of those surveyed saying they were content with the campaign against drugs.
Thirteen percent were dissatisfied, for a net rating of +65, or a “very good” mark.
The figure is a point higher than the ratings in the past two quarters and is the same rating registered in June 2017.
The illegal drugs campaign garnered high marks across the country, with Mindanao netting an “excellent” +84 mark from the first quarter’s +81 mark.
The satisfaction rating in Metro Manila also increased by two points to +67, for a “very good” grade from the prior quarter’s +65. It also increased by five points in Balance Luzon at +58. This is the highest in the area since the “excellent” rating of +77 in December 2016.
However, net satisfaction was lowest in Visayas, hitting a +57 mark from the +69 grade in March. The number in the region for the first five quarters since March 2017 ranged from +63 to +69.
The number of people who were satisfied with the performance of Duterte was higher among those satisfied with the illegal drug campaign, with a +59 rating.
The survey had sampling error margins of + or -3% for national percentages, and + or - 6% each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
The survey result was welcomed by Malacanang.
In a statement, Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr said the poll reflects the “broad support of our people, notwithstanding the efforts of the detractors and critics of the administration to politicise the issue or discredit the campaign’s success.”
“Filipinos aspire for a crime-free society which can be realised by stopping the spread of criminality and fighting the scourge of drugs,” Roque added.
The Philippine National Police had been heavily criticised because of the bloody war on drugs.
The police force said 4,853 drug suspects were killed under its Oplan Tokhang, but human rights groups claimed that the number of fatalities exceeded 10,000.
Because of the stinging criticisms, President Rodrigo Duterte last year pulled out the police from the drug war, allowing the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to lead the anti-drug campaign.
When the furore died down, Operation Tokhang was relaunched on January 29 this year. Aware that the campaign is closely being watched by the public, the police introduced new guidelines –anti-drug operations will be conducted only from 8 am to 5pm from Mondays to Fridays, and a police team will be composed of four qualified police officers and joined by a representative from a religious sector, human rights group, or barangay council.
