The New Bilibid Prison.
/Inquirer file photo
Half of adult Filipinos surveyed agree that a heinous criminal having a chance for reformation is a valid argument against the reimposition of death penalty.
In the Social Weather Stations (SWS) first-quarter survey first published in BusinessWorld, 50 percent of 1,200 adult Filipinos surveyed agreed with this statement: “The possibility that a person who committed a heinous crime can still change and be a good citizen is a good reason not to reimpose the death penalty.”
Meanwhile, 27 percent of those surveyed disagreed with the statement, while 23 percent were undecided.
The net agreement score on the question is moderate at +24.
Meanwhile, four of 10 Filipinos, or 41 percent, of those surveyed agree with the statement that only the poor and not the rich would be meted with the death penalty: “Only the poor and not the rich will usually be meted the death penalty.”
Of those surveyed, 37 percent disagreed with the statement, while 22 percent were undecided — for a neutral net agreement score of +4.
Three of 10 Filipinos, or 37 percent, of those surveyed agree that the possibility an innocent person could be sentenced to death is a valid argument against the death penalty reimposition: “The possibility that an innocent person can be sentenced to death or be meted the death penalty is a good reason not to reimpose this law.”
Of those surveyed, 38 percent disagree with that statement, while 25 percent were undecided, for a neutral agreement score of zero.
The noncommissioned survey was conducted from March 25 to 28, 2017 using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults (18 years old and above) nationwide — 300 each in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
The survey has a sampling error margins of ±3% for national percentages, and ±6% each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
The SWS released the report following its first survey, which was conducted March 25 to 28, showing that three out of five Filipinos favor the reimposition of death penalty for drug-related crimes.
The survey found that 61 percent of respondents “strongly or somewhat approve” of the proposal to revive capital punishment in the country, while 23 percent “somewhat or strongly disapprove.”