More than half of Filipinos are in favor of holding former President Rodrigo Duterte accountable for the killings connected to the war on drugs during his administration, according to a commissioned survey.

The survey, conducted by Social Weather Stations (SWS) for independent think tank Stratbase, found that 51 percent of Filipinos believe Duterte should answer the allegations against him. A quarter of Filipinos, or 25 percent, disagreed, while 14 percent were undecided, and 10 percent did not reply, as they were not sufficiently informed to provide an opinion.

Sixty-two percent of respondents from the Visayas believe that Duterte should be held liable, the highest percentage in the survey. This was followed by Northern Luzon at 60 percent, Balance Luzon at 49 percent, Central Luzon with 48 percent, Mindanao at 47 percent, the National Capital Region at 45 percent, and Southern Luzon at 44 percent.

Respondents from the rural areas made up the majority, with 52 percent supporting accountability for Duterte, compared to 48 percent in urban areas.

The survey was conducted with 1,800 respondents aged 18 and above, between 15 and 19 February. The respondents were divided into 300 from each region: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, with an additional 900 respondents from Balance Luzon or areas outside Metro Manila.

The sampling error was ±2.31 percent for national results, ±3.27 percent for Balance Luzon, and ±5.66 percent for Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

Malacañang welcomed the public’s response to the survey. Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said the survey showed that the public supports government actions that are consistent with the law.

“We are also happy that the majority of the people believe in the government’s actions on this issue,” she said during a press briefing.

However, Castro lamented that some people remained unaware of the issue but emphasized that the government would strengthen its efforts to inform the public, particularly in combating misinformation.

“We will intensify our efforts to curb fake news, as it is likely that those who do not believe in what the government has done are influenced by the fake news circulating,” she said.

Duterte is in detention in The Hague, the Netherlands, where he faces charges of crimes against humanity in connection with his administration’s war on drugs. He appeared before the International Criminal Court on 14 March, with the next hearing scheduled for 23 September. 30