MANILA – A recent survey by Social Weather Stations (SWS) reveals that a significant majority of Filipinos believe former President Rodrigo Duterte should be held accountable for the deaths linked to his administration’s war on drugs.
The former president was arrested on March 11, 2025, by the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) on orders coming from the International Criminal Court based on his crimes against humanity charges.
The survey, conducted from February 15 to 19 and commissioned by Stratbase Consultancy, shows 51% of respondents support accountability for Duterte’s actions.
Only 25% of respondents disagreed with the notion that Duterte should face responsibility for the drug war deaths, while 14% remained undecided. The remaining 10% of respondents were unsure or did not have enough information to form an opinion.
Support for accountability was strongest in the Visayas, where 62% of respondents favored holding Duterte accountable, followed by 49% in Balance Luzon, 47% in Mindanao, and 45% in the National Capital Region (NCR).
Rural areas showed a slightly higher inclination towards accountability, with 52% of rural respondents supporting the notion, compared to 48% in urban areas.
The SWS survey posed the question: “How much do you agree or disagree that former President Rodrigo Duterte should be held accountable for the killings related to illegal drugs during his administration?”
The survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews with 1,800 registered voters and has a margin of error of ±2.31% for national results.
Duterte has faced international legal challenges, including an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) over alleged crimes against humanity linked to the drug war that spanned from November 1, 2011, as mayor of Davao City, to March 16, 2019, during his presidency.
Duterte was transferred to the ICC Detention Center in Scheveningen on March 12, with the next hearing scheduled for September 23 to confirm the charges against him.
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