MAJORITY of Filipinos believe that cops are involved in illegal drug trade, extra-judicial killings of suspected drug personalities, and planting of evidence against drug trade suspects, according to the latest survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS).
The December 16 to 19 poll found that 68 percent believed accusations about some policemen's involvement in illegal drug trade, 66 percent about cops' involvement in extra-judicial killings of alleged drug suspects, and 58 percent about police's planting of evidence against arrested drug suspects.
Sixty-eight percent of Filipino adults said it was "definitely or probably true" that policemen are involved in the illegal drug trade, while five percent said it was "definitely or probably not true."
SWS stressed that 66 percent believed that it was "definitely or probably true" that policemen are involved in the extra-judicial killings of alleged drug offenders, while five percent said it was "definitely or probably not true."
The survey also found that 58 percent of Filipinos believed it was "definitely or probably true" that cops often plant evidence against suspects they arrest, while nine percent said it was "definitely or probably not true."
The same survey revealed that 28 percent of Filipinos are not buying the claim of responding police officers that suspected drug offenders killed during anti-drug operations resisted arrest.
Around 28 percent believed that the police are "not telling the truth" about their claims that slain drug suspects fought back, 16 percent of which were convinced that cops are "definitely not telling the truth."
SWS noted that 28 percent believed that police officers are "telling the truth," but only 10 percent thought that they are "definitely telling the truth."
The survey results yielded net opinion about truthfulness of the police to "zero," similar to the zero registered in June 2018 and the -1 when first asked in December 2016.
Net opinion about the truthfulness of the police’s claim about the alleged resistance of suspected drug personalities was lowest in Metro Manila at -11, followed by Balance Luzon (-3), the Visayas (+3), and Mindanao (+11).
In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Palace was aware that there are "rotten eggs that tend to destroy the integrity of the great institution, that is the Philippine National Police (PNP)."
"While there is no denying that there are erring policemen within their ranks, the PNP has done internal cleansing efforts such as the activation of the Counter-Intelligence Task Force tasked to go after policemen involved in unlawful activities," the Palace official said.
"We have also been witnesses to this zero tolerance against police misfits when the cop killers of Kian de los Santos were convicted and the entire Caloocan police force was relieved," he added.
Panelo also reiterated President Rodrigo Duterte's warning that "there will be hell to pay," if members of the PNP become "worse than criminals.”
"Such actions show that we in the administration are intolerant with any kind of abuse coming from those whose duty is to serve and protect the Filipino people," he said.
SWS interviewed 1,440 adult Filipinos, using sampling error margins of ±2.6 percentage points for national percentages, and ±5 percentage points each for Balance Luzon, Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao. (SunStar Philippines)