A recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey reveals that over half of Filipinos believe former President Rodrigo Duterte should be held responsible for the extrajudicial killings linked to his administration’s war on drugs.
Commissioned by Stratbase and conducted from February 15 to 19, the survey found that 51% of respondents think Duterte should be accountable, while 25% disagreed. Another 14% remained undecided, and 10% said they lacked sufficient knowledge to form an opinion.
Support for holding Duterte accountable was strongest in the Visayas, where 62% agreed, followed by Northern Luzon (60%), Balance Luzon (49%), Central Luzon (48%), Mindanao (47%), Metro Manila (45%), and Southern Luzon (44%). Rural respondents (52%) were more inclined to agree than urban respondents (48%).
The survey, conducted nationwide with 1,800 adult respondents, had a sampling error margin of ±2.31% for national results and ±5.66% for Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.
Duterte is currently in the custody of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, facing allegations of crimes against humanity due to his administration’s violent crackdown on illegal drugs. While government data reports over 6,000 drug-related deaths, human rights groups estimate the number could be as high as 30,000.
The former president appeared before the ICC via video link on March 14, with the next hearing scheduled for September.
