 |
| https://ift.tt/3hBkiwp |
The SWS released a survey result showing that 78{560c5a826b9d0f79d9056f2e452d35fface599afff45834a592fa1a3f7fd1a74} of Pinoys worry about becoming victims of EJK. This survey caused a lot of media buzz and was cited by many Duterte critics as a sign that our country is descending into the dark ages. Many people used the result of the survey as proof that Duterte is normalizing a state of fear in our country. Some Senators were also quick to use the survey result as an excuse to criticize the Duterte administration. The result of the survey also got international attention and even caused James Taylor to cancel his Philippine concert in protest. Is this going to be the state of Philippine society moving forward? Is the Philippines really headed for the dark ages overrun by fear? Will Filipinos be living in a society where the government can sanction Extra Judicial killing to support its war on drugs?
I don’t think so. I believe this is just part of the media and Liberal party opposition’s effort to create a false narrative to give itself credibility in preparation for a major move to remove Duterte from office. What is the real story behind the SWS survey result? Was it an accurate depiction of Philippine society? In order for us to answer these questions accurately, we have to look at the whole survey and look at the questions with a critical eye.
The Full Picture is more vibrant.
The question about how worried Filipinos are about becoming victims of EJK was only one question in the survey however the media coverage was disproportionately focused on that one question. Let us look at all the questions from the
survey in the order that they were asked:
Why did the media focus on one question only? Because the other results do not support the narrative they want to create. An overwhelming majority agree that the Duterte administration is serious in solving EJK cases, and that there has been a decrease in the drug problem in their neighbourhood. A majority of adults were also satisfied with the Duterte administration’s campaign against illegal drugs.
So how do we interpret the worry of being a victim of EJK given the respondents answer to the other questions? To answer this we have to understand the framing effect of the previous questions. Before answering question 145 (“Gaano po kayo nangangamba na kayo o sino mang kilala ninyo ay maging biktima ng “Extra Judicial Killing o EJK”?) the respondents were given a definition of EJK in question 143 (“Extra-Judicial Killing o EJK ang tawag sa pagpatay sa isang tao na walang pahintulot ng batas. Kadalasan itong ginagawa ng mga di-kilalang taong naka-motor; posible ding ginagawa ng mga pulis or militar para takpan ang kanilang pagkasangkot sa mga KRIMINAL na gawain…”). Now that we know the frame of the question, we can re-phrase question 145 into “Gaano po kayo nangangamba na kayo o sino mang kilala ninyo ay mapatay, ng walang pahintulot ng batas, ng di-kilalang taong naka-motor o pulis o militar para takpan ang kanilang pagkasangkot sa mga KRIMINAL na gawain?” The short english translation for this is: “How worried are you that you or someone you know will be killed by unidentified gunmen?” The survey question might as well have been: “How afraid are you of being murdered?”.
Why is this an important point? Because the respondents answer to this question was sold by the media and the opposition as proof that the Duterte administration’s war on drugs is creating this culture of fear among its citizens. The context of their fear of EJK was framed by the survey’s definition of EJK which is essentially murder/ homicide. Everyone is afraid of being murdered so the survey really did not say anything new. The survey should have asked a follow up question; “How likely do you think it is that you or someone you know will be a victim of EJK as part of the Duterte war on drugs?”. There is a very important distinction between fear of something and ones assessment on how likely it is that our fear is realized.
False Arrogance
The media and the opposition was quick to use the answer to one question in the survey as proof that the Duterte administration’s war on drugs is creating this fear. This conclusion however is not supported by the survey. The media and the opposition conveniently skipped the following conclusions:
- Majority of the respondents said they were satisfied with the government’s campaign against illegal drugs.
- Majority of the respondents said they believe the administration is serious about solving EJK cases.
- Majority of the respondents said that there has been a decrease in the drug problem in their area.
Not only did the media and the Liberal party opposition not mention these conclusions but they skewed the answer to one question to support their created narrative. Instead of showing how the public agrees to the Duterte war on drugs, they instead created a false narrative of fear. They projected the Filipino’s fear of murder/ homicide as fear of the Duterte drug war when the question never even mentioned the Duterte drug war. Read the survey’s definition of EJK again; “Extra-Judicial Killing o EJK ang tawag sa pagpatay sa isang tao na walang pahintulot ng batas. Kadalasan itong ginagawa ng mga di-kilalang taong naka-motor; posible ding ginagawa ng mga pulis or militar para takpan ang kanilang pagkasangkot sa mga KRIMINAL na gawain…” Notice that the question never mentioned drugs or the administration’s war on drugs, however the media and the Liberal party opposition were arrogant enough to spin the survey to support their propaganda.
Yes, the media and the Liberal party opposition are arrogant. Arrogant enough to think that they can get away with lies and continue to create a false narrative to support their campaign to remove Duterte from power. The media and the Liberal party opposition are arrogant enough to think that even without the mandate of the vote, they can still dictate where this country is going.
We have to fight this arrogance. We have to fight this effort to mislead, to lie and to steal power from the sovereign.
0 Comments