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47 pct of Filipinos say 'dangerous' to publish anything critical of gov't: SWS

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Media rights advocates commemorate the 30th anniversary of World Press Freedom Day with a march at University of the Philippines, Diliman campus in Quezon City on May 3, 2023. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/news/05/10/20230503-worldpressfreedom-march-up-mt-5.jpg"/><figcaption>Media rights advocates commemorate the 30th anniversary of World Press Freedom Day with a march at University of the Philippines, Diliman campus in Quezon City on May 3, 2023. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA — Almost half of Filipinos agreed that it was dangerous to publish anything critical of the government, a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed. </p><p>The <a href="https://www.sws.org.ph/swsmain/artcldisppage/?artcsyscode=ART-20230509093955&amp;mc_cid=0efd752c02&amp;mc_eid=adc91a8fff">SWS survey</a> released Tuesday showed that 47 percent of Filipinos believed that it was dangerous to print or broadcast content critical of the administration, even if it was the truth. </p><p>Some 27 percent of Filipinos were undecided, while 26 percent disagreed with the statement.</p><p>&quot;The resulting net agreement score of +20, classified by SWS as moderate, is 4 points below the moderate +24 in December 2021,&quot; the SWS said. </p><p>The highest number of respondents who said it was still dangerous to publish content critical of the administration came from Metro Manila, followed by the Visayas, Luzon, and Mindanao.</p><p>However, net agreement scores in Metro Manila and Visayas fell in the recent survey compared to the figures recorded in December 2021, during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.</p><p>In Metro Manila, the number of people who said it was dangerous to publish anti-administration content fell to +28 from +41 in December 2021, while the number in Visayas also decreased to +23 from +36.</p><p>The pollster said it aimed &quot;to assess respondents&#x27; opinions on the state of press freedom in the country.&quot; It noted the World Press Freedom Day was observed on May 3. </p><p>SWS conducted the survey from Dec. 10 to 14, 2022, using in-person interviews for 1,200 adults nationwide: 300 each from Metro Manila, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.</p><p>The pollster also clarified that the survey was non-commissioned, and was only done on SWS&#x27; own initiative and released as a public service.</p><p>The Philippines climbed up 15 spots in the 2023 World Press Freedom Index released by Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF), ranking 132nd out of 180 countries.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/04/23/ph-improves-to-132nd-place-in-2023-press-freedom-index">Philippines improves to 132nd place in 2023 Press Freedom Index</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2602383" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Almost half of Filipinos agreed it was dangerous to publish anything critical of the government, a recent SWS survey showed.