Survey: 1 in 3 Filipinos in Davao Region oppose defending WPS

MANILA, Philippines — While a large majority of Filipinos support the government’s actions in defending the country’s territory and sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea, one out of three Filipinos in Davao Region disagree with this assertion, according to a survey.

In a survey conducted by Octa Research, 76 percent of respondents expressed willingness to defend the Philippine territory, including the West Philippine Sea.

“This patriotism is broad-based—with only 7 percent in disagreement, the survey establishes a clear and durable national consensus, one that cuts across class, gender, locale, and generation,” Octa said in its report of the survey results released on Monday.

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Among major areas, support was highest in the National Capital Region at 83 percent, and Balance Luzon at 77 percent.

The Visayas posted the lowest agreement among major areas at 68 percent, followed by Mindanao with 75 percent.

The public’s commitment to territorial defense, however, varied across the country’s 18 regions.

The highest agreement rate was recorded in Mimaropa (Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Romblon, and Palawan) at 93 percent.

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The region is home to the Palawan province, whose features in the Kalayaan municipality have been recurrent flashpoints between Filipino fishermen and authorities and Chinese coast guard and militia in recent years.

Also those with strong consensus on defending Philippine territory were Caraga (91 percent), Western Visayas (90 percent), Bicol Region and NCR (83 percent), and Central Luzon (81 percent).

Meanwhile, agreement was lower in Central Visayas (45 percent), Ilocos Region (61 percent), Davao Region (61 percent), and Eastern Visayas (63 percent).

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Octa, however, noted that Davao Region recorded both the lowest agreement rate among Mindanao’s regions at 61 percent, and the highest disagreement nationally at 34 percent.

This disagreement is five times the national disagreement figure of 7 percent.

“It suggests that communication strategies around territorial defense may need to be more locally sensitive and context-specific,” Octa said.

Davao Region is the home and political base of former President Rodrigo Duterte, during whose term the country pivoted to China and away from the United States, its oldest treaty partner.

In July 2016, an international arbitral tribunal in The Hague ruled to invalidate Beijing’s claims to almost the entire South China Sea. China, however, did not participate in the arbitration and has refused to recognize the ruling.

Duterte said he chose not to enforce the arbitral decision to avoid armed conflict with China despite severe domestic pushback from legal and defense experts, as well as to pursue closer bilateral relations, economic investments, and infrastructure with the Asian superpower.

In May 2021, Duterte controversially dismissed the 2016 arbitral win of the Philippines as a mere “piece of paper” that he would “throw in the wastebasket.”

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The survey commissioned by the Armed Forces of the Philippines asked the respondents how strongly they agree or disagree with the statement: “I love my country, and I am committed to support the government in defending its territory and asserting sovereign rights, including over the West Philippine Sea.”

The survey was conducted from March 19 to 25, using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 respondents across the nation who were aged 18 and older.

 It has a ±3 percent margin of error at a 95-percent confidence level. /cb