MANILA, Philippines — While a clear majority of Filipinos — 63 percent — are convinced President Rodrigo Duterte plans to change the present form of government into one that suits him, a 39 percent plurality disagree with his proclaiming a revolutionary government, results of a recent survey by Social Weather Stations showed.
Only 31 percent of respondents agreed with the prospective proclamation of a revolutionary government by Duterte while 30 percent were undecided, the Fourth Quarter 2017 Social Weather Survey undertaken December 8-16, 2017 showed.
Other data indicated that disagreement with the idea of a revolutionary government ran high even among the bulk of the population who approve of Duterte.
Among the 71 percent of respondents who said they were satisfied with Duterte, net agreement with the idea of a revolutionary government was only +2, compared with -22 among the 15 percent undecided and -43 among the 13 percent dissatisfied.
It was the same, with a +1 net approval among the 83 percent who said they trust Duterte, as against -38 among the 10 percent undecided and -56 among the 7 percent who did not trust him.
As for whether or not Duterte plans to proclaim a revolutionary government, only 18 percent did not believe he intends to with the remaining 19 percent having no answer.
Despite the plurality who disagree with the idea of a revolutionary government, almost half, or 48 percent, of the respondents said it was possible to set one up under the 1987 Constitution, with 27 percent saying otherwise and 24 percent without an opinion on the matter.
Metro Manila had the largest proportion of residents who said a revolutionary government is possible under the Constitution, at 58 percent, followed by Mindanao at 48 percent, Balance Luzon at 47 percent, and the Visayas at 42 percent.
But geographically, only Mindanao, from where Duterte hails, registered support for a revolutionary government with a net +16 (38% agree, 21% disagree, correctly rounded).
Metro Manila came in at net -7 (34% agree, 41% disagree), Balance Luzon net -16 (30% agree, 46% disagree), and the Visayas net -17 (26% agree, 43% disagree). Disagreement was stronger in rural areas, at -9, than in urban areas, -6.
The non-commissioned survey used face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults with sampling error margins of ±3 percent for national percentages, and ±6 percent each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
The survey questions on revolutionary government are as follows:
1) “Sa pagka-alam ninyo, may plano po ba si Pangulong Duterte na ibahin ang kasulukuyang gobyerno ng Pilipinas, at palitan ng isang bagong gobyerno na gusto niya? Siya po ba ay TALAGANG MAY PLANO, MALAMANG NA MAY PLANO, MALAMANG NA WALANG PLANO, TALAGANG WALANG PLANO, o HINDI ALAM KUNG MAY PLANO?” [“As far as you know, does President Duterte have a plan to change the present government of the Philippines, and change it for a new government that he likes? Does he DEFINTELY HAS A PLAN, PROBABLY HAS A PLAN, PROBABLY HAS NO PLAN, DEFINTELY HAS NO PLAN or DON’T KNOW IF HE HAS A PLAN?”]
2) “Sa pagka-alam ninyo, maaari po bang magkaroon ng “Revolutionary Government” sa ilalim ng kasalakuyang Saligang Batas ng Pilipinas? Ito po ba ay TALAGANG MAAARI, MALAMANG NA MAAARI, MALAMANG NA HINDI MAAARI, TALAGANG HINDI MAAARI, o HINDI ALAM KUNG MAAARI?” [As far as you know, is it possible to have a “Revolutionary Government” under the present Constitution of the Philippines? Is this DEFINTELY POSSIBLE, PROBABLY POSSIBLE, PROBABLY NOT POSSIBLE, DEFINTELY NOT POSSIBLE, or DON’T KNOW IF POSSIBLE?”]
3) “Kayo po ba ay LUBOS NA SUMASANG-AYON, MEDYO SUMASANG-AYON, HINDI TIYAK KUNG SUMASANG-AYON O HINDI, MEDYO HINDI SUMASANG-AYON, o LUBOS NA HINDI SUMASANG-AYON kung sakali pong magproklama si Pang. Rodrigo Duterte ng isang “Revolutionary Government”?” [“Do you “STRONGLY AGREE, SOMEWHAT AGREE, UNDECIDED IF AGREE OR DISAGREE, SOMEWHAT DISAGREE or STRONGLY DISAGREE in case Pres. Rodgrigo Duterte proclaims a “Revolutionary Government”?”]
