Majority of Filipinos support PH rejoining ICC, survey says

The International Criminal Court. ICC PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Majority of Filipinos support the Philippines’ return to the International Criminal Court (ICC), survey results from OCTA Research showed.

Based on the results of a survey conducted by OCTA Research from April 20 to 24, 57 percent of Filipinos support calls for the country to rejoin the ICC.

Meanwhile, only 37 percent said that they were opposed to rejoining, while 6 percent said they were undecided.

According to OCTA Research, the results indicate a “broad, though not unanimous, public backing for renewed engagement.”

In terms of awareness, the survey results showed that 85 percent of respondents reported having either seen, read, or heard about the ICC; 13 percent stated they were unaware of the ICC; while 1 percent remained undecided.

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“Overall, the findings suggest a generally favorable national outlook toward rejoining the ICC,” OCTA Research noted in its report.

“However, public opinion varies across regions and demographics, with significantly lower support in Mindanao and among certain age and socioeconomic groups,” it added.

Support for rejoining the ICC was widespread across the country, excluding Mindanao.

Over 60 percent of respondents in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, and Visayas supported the engagement, while only 30 percent in Mindanao expressed the same sentiment.

This also means Mindanao had the highest level of opposition at 66 percent, while the other regions were at 29 percent (Metro Manila), 27 percent (Balance Luzon), and 31 percent (Visayas).

In terms of age groups, support was highest from the 25 to 34 age bracket at 62 percent, while it was lowest among respondents ages 45 to 54 at 50 percent.

For individual regions, majority of respondents expressed support to the Philippines rejoining the ICC across all regions, except in Central Visayas at only 44 percent; Northern Mindanao at 36 percent; Zamboanga Peninsula at 34 percent; Davao Region at 16 percent; Soccsksargen at 34 percent; Caraga at 30 percent; and Barmm at 31 percent.

The survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews with 1,200 total respondents ages 18 and above.

It had a margin of error of ±3 percent at a 95 percent confidence. /gsg