8 of 10 see peace with MILF - SWS

MANILA, Philippines - Eight out of 10 Filipinos are hopeful that the ongoing peace talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will be successful, a recent survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) revealed.

The SWS poll, conducted from June 3 to 6, found 83 percent of the respondents optimistic that a peace agreement would be reached; 38 percent are “very hopeful” (talagang umaasa) and 45 percent are “somewhat hopeful” (medyo umaasa).

The good news was warmly welcomed by Malacañang, describing it as “a positive indication of a peace constituency in our country.”

Of the remaining 17 percent of the respondents, eight percent said they were “somewhat not hopeful” (medyo hindi umaasa) and nine percent claimed they were “not hopeful at all” (talagang hindi umaasa).

Results of the SWS survey were published in the newspaper BusinessWorld yesterday.

The survey was conducted prior to the meeting of President Aquino and MILF chairman Al Haj Murad Ibrahim in Tokyo earlier this month.

Majority (59 percent) of the respondents who said they are “very hopeful” on the attainment of peace were in Mindanao, followed by those in the Visayas (38 percent), balance Luzon (30 percent), and Metro Manila (25 percent).

The “somewhat hopeful,” meanwhile, comprised 53 percent in Metro Manila, 52 percent in balance Luzon, 42 percent in the Visayas, and 31 percent in Mindanao.

The pessimists - either “somewhat not hopeful” or “not hopeful at all” - constituted minorities in Metro Manila (22 percent), the Visayas (19 percent), balance Luzon (17 percent), and Mindanao (10 percent).

Those who are not hopeful that a peace pact would be reached said the biggest obstacle was that the peace process “has taken too long to resolve.”

Among the other obstacles stated were “ideological differences” (12 percent) and “religious differences” (10 percent).

The next round of peace talks between the government and the MILF is scheduled on Aug. 22 to 24 in Malaysia.

The SWS survey used face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults nationwide. It had sampling error margins of plus or minus three percentage points for national and six percentage points for area percentages.

Strong public support

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said such “hopefulness of Filipinos on the ongoing peace talks points to strong public support for the President’s policy of achieving peace in Mindanao on a basis that takes into account justice for all concerned - whether they be Moros, Christians or lumads.” 

“It is no coincidence that optimism for peace between the government and the MILF is highest in Mindanao, at 59 percent, where everyone knows full well, how much there is to gain by achieving peace,” Lacierda said in a statement.

“The rest of the country, from the Visayas (38 percent) to balance Luzon (30 percent) and the NCR at 25 percent, is also very hopeful. Sustained efforts, conducted with sincerity and full political will, can only further build up confidence in the peace process,” he added. - With Delon Porcalla