4 in 10 Filipinos reject Bangsamoro law

Disagreement more pronounced in Mindanao

MANILA, Philippines — A large chunk of the population reject the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) pending in Congress, polling firm Pulse Asia's nationwide survey indicates.

Pulse Asia said in a report released Thursday that 44 percent or roughly one in four Filipinos in the survey said they disagree with the proposed law.

The percentage includes 16 percent saying they "strongly disagree" and 27 percent saying they simply "disagree."

Pulse Asia said the negative sentiment is "shared by big pluralities to sizeable majorities" in Metro Manila with 52 percent and Mindanao with 62 percent.

"Disagreement with the passage of the BBL is more pronounced in Mindanao than in the rest of Luzon and Visayas, with 32 percent and 43 percent respectively," it said.

Almost half of those belonging to economic classes D and E also expressed disapproval of the law, registering 45 percent and 43 percent respectively.

Only 21 percent expressed support for the BBL, with 4 percent saying they "strongly agree."

More Filipinos or 36 percent, on the other hand, expressed indecision on the passage of the Bangsamoro bill.

Classes A, B and C, meanwhile, opinion is "split three-ways," the report said. Rejecting the passage of the BBL are 37 percent, while 37 percent are undecided and 25 percent agree with it.

The survey was conducted from March 1 to 7 using face-to-face interviews with 1,200 representative adults 18 years old and above. It has a 3-percent error margin and 95-percent confidence level.

Stories on the encounter between the police Special Action Force and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front—the government's partner in the peace process leading to the passage of the BBL—dominated the headlines during the survey period.

The report also established that 99 percent of Filipinos have heard, read or watched about the BBL, with 88 percent saying they had learned about it before the clash led to the deaths of 44 commandos.

The remaining 12 percent, meanwhile, only learned of the BBL after news on the incident were reported.

Public awareness of the January 25 operation between the MILF with the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and government forces, meanwhile, was essentially universal at 99 percent.

The figure does not significantly vary across geographic locations. Ninety-nine percent of Metro Manila residents, 99 percent in Luzon, 97 percent in the Visayas and 98 percent in Mindanao have heard of the tragedy.

The BBL deliberation was postponed indefinitely following the botched police operation January 25 to capture Malaysian terror suspect Zulkipli bin Hir or Marwan which resulted in the killing of the elite policemen, the worst combat loss by the Government in a single day in recent memory.