MOST Filipinos, or more than 57 percent said that they support President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of martial law in Mindanao, but more than six out of 10 oppose expanding it to other parts of the country, the latest Social Weather Stations survey revealed.
Of the 92 percent of Filipino adults who said that they were aware of Duterte’s martial law declaration—some 57 percent agree that Duterte made the right decision, while 29 percent said that martial law should have been declared only for Marawi City and the Province of Lanao del Sur, and 11 percent said that it should have been declared only for Marawi City, the Province of Lanao del Sur, and nearby provinces.
Some 63 percent disagreed with proposals for Duterte to declare martial law in the Visayas and only 23 percent agreed, while 13 percent said that they were undecided.
The survey also found that 67 percent disagreed with proposals to declare martial law in Luzon, and only 22 percent agreed, while 13 percent were undecided.
Of those who support Duterte’s martial law declaration, support was high in Mindanao at 64 percent, followed by Metro Manila at 58 percent, Visayas at 57 percent, and Balance Luzon at 53 percent. It was a similar 58 percent in overall urban areas, and 56 percent in overall rural areas.
By class, support was highest in class ABC at 70 percent, followed by class E at 58 percent, and class D at 56 percent.
While in the middle of a trip in Russia, President Rodrigo Duterte placed the entire island of Mindanao under martial law on May 23. Military rule ends in 60 days unless it is extended by Congress.
Duterte said he decided to impose martial law after both the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police told him that “the situation was critical” in Marawi City following the rampage of Islamic State-allied gunmen.
The administration recently scored a victory after the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of Duterte’s declaration of martial law in Mindanao and his suspension of the writ of habeas corpus there after Maute group terrorists overran Marawi City.
In previous speeches, Duterte said he might also choose to expand the area of coverage outside Mindanao on the heels of the clashes in Marawi City.
The Second Quarter 2017 survey, conducted from June 23 to 26, 2017 involved face-to-face interviews with 1,200 respondents, and has sampling error margins of ±3 points for national percentages.