THE recent Social Weather Station survey showing President Rodrigo Duterte gaining an all-time high popularity rating may be used by critics as a baseline on the degree of awareness the Filipino populace has on the importanc of human rights protection.

The President’s anti-illegal drug war has been bloody, and if police records are true, there have been over 6,000 deaths in relation to police operations.

And yet, the President’s popularity rating remains stable and, in fact, gaining points. By indication, this means that the populace is buying the war against illegal drugs, its methodology and impact. On the other hand, this also indicates the people’s ignorance to the importance of protecting human rights at all cost.

This may be a good study for academics and those who opposed the extrajudicial killings in relation to the drug war.