
A SURVEY conducted by the Philippines’ leading survey research institute shows most Filipinos believe former President Rodrigo Duterte should be held accountable for his bloody war on drugs.
According to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) national survey conducted on February 15-19, 2025, 51 percent of total respondents agreed that Duterte should be held accountable for the drug war killings during his term.
Only 25 percent disagreed, while 14 percent were undecided. Ten percent of respondents said they did not know enough to give an opinion on the matter.
The survey was conducted before Duterte was arrested on March 11, 2025, and turned over to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity.
The SWS national survey, commissioned by Stratbase Consultancy, involved face-to-face interviews with 1,800 registered voters aged 18 years old and above.
The survey used the standard interviewing method of the SWS. Fieldwork was conducted between February 15 and 19, and the results were disclosed in a media release on Wednesday, March 19.
The survey sampled 300 respondents in Metro Manila, 900 in Balance Luzon (Luzon outside Metro Manila), 300 in the Visayas and 300 in Mindanao.
The SWS used Commission on Elections’ data on validated voters from the different regions so that the overall national results of the survey would properly represent the answers of all registered voters in the Philippines.
Areas
In rural areas, 52 percent agreed that Duterte should be held accountable for the drug war killings. This figure is higher than the 48 percent in urban areas across the country who agreed that Duterte should be held accountable.
In the National Capital Region (Metro Manila), 45 percent of respondents strongly agreed that Duterte should be held liable, 49 percent in Balance Luzon, 60 percent in Northern Luzon, 48 percent in Central Luzon, and 44 percent in
Southern Luzon.
Meanwhile, 62 percent of respondents in the Visayas agreed that Duterte should be made to answer for the drug war killings.
In Duterte’s territory of Mindanao, 44 percent of respondents expressed support for holding the ex-President responsible.
The national survey did not ask respondents their preferred process of holding Duterte accountable. / CDF