We still have our humanity

Herbie  Gomez

I HOPE that the Duterte administration sees the results of the Sept. 24-27 Social Weather Station (SWS) survey on how citizens view the President’s “war on drugs” more than a good material for propaganda.

Certainly, it was good news to Malacanang that 54 percent of 1,200 respondents nationwide said they were “very satisfied” with the anti-drug campaign and 30 percent were “somewhat satisfied.” That’s 84 percent giving the Duterte war on drugs their approval. With four percent saying they were “somewhat dissatisfied” and another four percent saying they were “very dissatisfied,” it received a net satisfaction rating of 76 percent.

Note that President Duterte received “very good” net satisfaction ratings across socioeconomic classes. Breakdown: +56 in “ABC” and +65 each in “D” and “E.”

In high spirits, Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said, “The results of the latest Social Weather Stations survey showing a ‘very good’ net satisfaction rating for President Rodrigo Duterte shows very clearly that the majority of the Filipino people approve of his performance in his first three months in office.”

Duterte ended his first three months in office with a +64 “very good” rating. Except for Gloria Arroyo who rose to become president by way of automatic succession in 2001, Duterte’s post-Edsa revolt predecessors basically received the same “very good” net satisfaction ratings. Cory Aquino had +53; Fidel Ramos had +66; Joseph Estrada had +60; and Benigno Aquino III had +60.

Note that Duterte ranked second to Ramos who had +66. But did FVR enjoy the same kind of public trust before he stepped down from office in 1998?

Even Duterte’s predecessor, Aquino III, had “very good” trust ratings. He had +83 in a June 2010 survey, and enjoyed ratings that played from +67 to +79 in 2011 and 2012. But then it plunged to +29 in a survey conducted March 30 to April 2, this year, or just before he stepped down, according to SWS’s Mahar Mangahas.

I guess it is no extraordinary feat for any elected President of this country to enjoy high trust ratings at the start of his administration. The question is whether or not this level of public trust can be sustained up to the 6th year of the office term.

Three months ago, Duterte enjoyed a 91-percent trust rating, based on the July 2-8 Pulse Asia survey. Shouldn’t September’s net satisfaction rating be enough to make the Palace’s think tank worry?

It is also worth noting that while 76 percent of the respondents in the Sept. 24-27 SWS survey approved of the war on drugs, 71 percent said it’s “very important” to them that drug suspects be caught alive. It wouldn’t be wise for Malacanang to gloss over the fact that while majority want government to go after those behind the drug trade in the country and get rid of this drug menace, the majority also do not approve of extrajudicial methods.

If you ask me if I approve of a government crackdown on illegal drugs, of course, my answer is “yes.” But if you ask me if I approve of unjustified killings, my answer is “no.” The message, shown in the SWS survey, is crystal clear: pursue the war on drugs but do not be trigger-happy.

What a relief to know that bloodthirsty Filipinos who have lost their conscience and suspended their reason, and those without balls, are still the minority! For a moment there, I had thought that we, as a nation, have lost our humanity. Now, I think that many of those who are out for blood are themselves the ones with brains damaged by drugs. Pastilan.