Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Filipinos across the board believe it is unnecessary for President Rodrigo Duterte to declare Martial Law to solve the country’s problems, survey firm Pulse Asia Research Inc. said on Wednesday.
“The majority sentiment among Filipinos (74%) is one of disagreement with the view that martial law may be necessary now in order to resolve the various problems being faced by the country,” the research firm said in a statement about its “Ulat ng Bayan” (“Report on the Nation”) survey conducted December 6 to 11, 2016.
It added that this sentiment “is the prevailing opinion in all geographic areas, socio-economic classes, and age groupings, as well as among both men and women.”
The country’s fears over Martial Law are not unfounded. Thousands of Filipinos were victims of human rights abuses when the Philippines was last under Martial Law from 1972 to 1981 under the rule of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos.
Twelve percent of the respondents agreed to the proclamation of Martial Law, while 14 percent remained undecided, the Pulse Asia survey said.
The survey was done among 1,200 adults nationwide, and has a margin of error of ±3 percent
The survey comes months after President Duterte declared in October 2016 that the gravity and the far reach of the illegal drug problem in the country had tempted him to declare Martial Law.
“There are 6,000 barangay captains doing their own thing, manufacturing shabu. How am I supposed to deal with (this). Sometimes, I’m tempted really to declare Martial Law but it is not feasible to say,” the President said during a speech in Makati.
Also read: Duterte eyes changing martial law provision in Constitution
Two months later, on December 1, 2016, Duterte dismissed rumors about Martial Law being imposed to further empower his war against illegal drugs, now going on its seventh month since he took office.
“Kalokohan ‘yan. Nag-Martial Law man tayo noon, anong nangyari? Gumaling ba ang buhay natin hanggang ngayon? Wala,” he said speaking at the Third Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao Local Government Summit in Davao City.
[Translation: That’s nonsense. We had martial law before, what happened? Did it improve our lives now? Not at all.]
Also read: Duterte: No plans to declare Martial Law
