73% of Filipinos want Duterte admin to assert rights in West Philippine Sea

A significant majority of Filipinos believe that President Rodrigo Duterte should assert the Philippines’ sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea through the international court ruling it had won exactly two years ago.

Pulse Asia President Ronald Holmes on Thursday said 73% of Filipinos answered in agreement to the statement “The Duterte administration should assert our rights and protect our territorial sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea as stipulated in the 2016 decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.”

The results were presented in time for the second anniversary of the landmark ruling.

The survey was conducted from June 15 to 21 among 1,800 participants.

Only 4 percent somewhat disagree while 3 percent strongly disagree with the decision.

Two percent of the respondents admitted that they did not have enough knowledge of the issue.

In a December 2016 survey, 84 percent agreed that the Philippine government should assert its rights on the West Philippine Sea.

“This is slightly lower of agreement, but it’s still a significant majority,” Holmes said.

Protest militarization

“A plurality of Filipinos are of the opinion that the Philippines should protest the continuous militarization of the Chinese in our territories in the West Philippine Sea,” Holmes said.

The US, Japan, and Australia, as well as regional association (Asean) and the United Nations are trusted by a plurality to a significant majority of Filipinos.

US ranked first with 74 percent to the question, “Which of the following countries or organizations do you trust the most?

Japan scored 45 percent, Australia with 32 percent. Asean was at 33 percent, while UN was at 32 percent. /je