47% of Filipinos Say it is Dangerous to Criticize the Government

One ought to not put a lot of stock in surveys. They are mostly popularity contests with a small sample size that can be twisted every which way. However one recent survey does give cause for concern.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/10/23/sws-47-pct-say-publishing-govt-criticism-dangerous

Almost half of Filipinos agreed that it was dangerous to publish anything critical of the government, a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed. 

The SWS survey released Tuesday showed that 47 percent of Filipinos believed that it was dangerous to print or broadcast content critical of the administration, even if it was the truth. 

Some 27 percent of Filipinos were undecided, while 26 percent disagreed with the statement.

"The resulting net agreement score of +20, classified by SWS as moderate, is 4 points below the moderate +24 in December 2021," the SWS said. 

The highest number of respondents who said it was still dangerous to publish content critical of the administration came from Metro Manila, followed by the Visayas, Luzon, and Mindanao.

However, net agreement scores in Metro Manila and Visayas fell in the recent survey compared to the figures recorded in December 2021, during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

In Metro Manila, the number of people who said it was dangerous to publish anti-administration content fell to +28 from +41 in December 2021, while the number in Visayas also decreased to +23 from +36.

The pollster said it aimed "to assess respondents' opinions on the state of press freedom in the country." It noted the World Press Freedom Day was observed on May 3. 

SWS conducted the survey from Dec. 10 to 14, 2022, using in-person interviews for 1,200 adults nationwide: 300 each from Metro Manila, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

The pollster also clarified that the survey was non-commissioned, and was only done on SWS' own initiative and released as a public service.

Now, this is not shocking at all. To an outsider yes it would be not only reprehensible but incomprehensible. In light of the EDSA protests in 1986 which ousted Ferdinand Marcos one has to wonder what happened. Let me offer a theory.

By 1986 Marcos had been in power for over 20 years. By that time his hand had become heavy and people were tired of it. They responded by forcing him and his family to leave the country. But over the years complacency set in. Those who replaced Marcos didn't fix the nation which culminated in the election of Duterte who ran as a strong man desirous to not just rid the Philippines of criminality but to kill all the criminals! 

Throughout his administration any and all critics were red-tagged and declared to be destabilizers of the nation. Even Vice President Leni Robredo did not escape this charge. Now the status quo has set in so much so that Bongbong Marcos, a lying convicted criminal who continues to defend his parents' crimes against the nation, was elected to high office. 

The good thing is that these respondents do not run the media. The bad thing is that many Filipinos with this same attitude have immigrated to the West which undermines the values of those nations who see it the duty of the people to criticize the government. The other bad thing is that the media in the Philippines is incredibly superficial and does not go far enough to condemn and criticize the government when it is warranted. 

Which media outlet has truly covered the Marawi siege and all the inconsistencies and so-called intelligent failures? None as far as I know. 

Which media outlet has constantly covered the regular assassination of politicians throughout the nation and demanded an end to it? None that I know of. Not unless it comes to a head like it did in February, 2023.

There are a lot of easy takeaways from this survey but I don't think they are necessarily true or helpful. Are Filipinos complacent and submissive? Yes. To a large degree yes they will endure the boot stamping the face by elected officials. Do not forget that officials are quick to file libel cases against their critics.  Who wants to deal with that? Truly criticizing the government is dangerous for anyone who would dare to do so. 

But there is something more at work here than mere bootlicking. I don't think you will ever find a Filipino who will say, "To Hell with the government."

But maybe you will!