Half of Filipinos don't believe cops' 'nanlaban' line – SWS survey

MANILA, Philippines – Did they really fight back ("nanlaban")?

As President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs hits its 15th month, more Filipinos have expressed disbelief that many of those killed in police operations fought back, according to a survey from the Social Weather Stations (SWS).

The survey was conducted from June 23 to 26, with the results released on Wednesday, September 27.

The SWS asked respondents whether they agree or not with this statement: "Marami sa mga pinatay ng mga pulis sa kampanya laban sa ilegal na droga ay hindi totoong nanlaban sa pulis (Many of those killed by police in the anti-drug campaign did not really fight back during police operations)."

Of the 1,200 respondents surveyed, 20% said they strongly agreed with the statement, while 34% said they somewhat agreed. Only 8% said they strongly disagreed and 12% said they somewhat disagree. The rest were undecided.

Disbelief over the "nanlaban" explanation was the highest in Metro Manila, the SWS noted, where over 63% of those surveyed do not believe that suspects fought back. In the rest of Luzon, 56% also do not believe the "nanlaban" line, while 49% both in the Visayas and in Mindanao said the same.

The poor (Classes D and E) agreed more with the statement. In the survey, 54% from Class D expressed agreement while 58% from Class E expressed agreement. In contrast, only 40% from Class ABC expressed agreement with the statement.

The survey involved 300 respondents each from Metro Manila, the rest of Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao. Error margins for national percentages is at ±3% and ±6% for regional percentages.

The SWS said the survey was not commissioned.