Half of Filipinos want Duterte accountability over EJK - survey

Metro Manila, Philippines - A commissioned survey done less than a month before former President Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest by an international tribunal showed majority of Filipinos want to hold him accountable for alleged extrajudicial killings (EJK) in his bloody drug war

Released on Wednesday, March 19, the Stratbase-commissioned Social Weather Stations poll said 51 percent of Filipinos believed Duterte should answer for the thousands of deaths, while a fourth disagreed.

The remaining respondents were undecided (14 percent) and didn't know enough to give an opinion (10 percent).

The survey was conducted on Feb. 15-19. The International Criminal Police Organization, with the assistance of local authorities, arrested Duterte at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport upon his arrival from Hong Kong on March 11.

The former president is facing charges of murder falling under crimes against humanity in relation to his drug war.

Those seeking accountability from Duterte were highest in the Visayas at 62 percent. The Dutertes have a strong following among Bisaya-speaking communities. Almost half (47 percent) of respondents in Mindanao — the former president’s political base — had the same sentiment.

The survey interviewed 1,800 respondents nationwide and has a ±2 margin of error.