7 in 10 Filipinos oppose same-sex marriage – survey

MANILA, Philippines – Seven in 10 Filipinos disagree with same-sex marriage, according to a poll conducted in May.

Up to 70% of the survey respondents said they “strongly disagree” with same-sex marriage being allowed in the predominantly Catholic country.

A small 4% said they “strongly agree” with same-sex marriage.

The rest of the respondents “somewhat disagree” (14%) and “somewhat agree” (12%) with a possible reform in the country’s marriage laws. The numbers were rounded off.

The sentiment against same-sex marriage is “strong” across the board based on regional and socio-economic breakdown of the survey exclusively conducted by Laylo Research Strategies for the newspaper The Standard.

It’s a blow to the campaign of the country’s advocates of same-sex marriage who recently held rallies to celebrate last week’s ruling of the United States Supreme Court allowing same-sex marriage in all 50 states. (READ: SC asked: Allow same-sex marriage in PH)

The survey was conducted a month before the world euphoria over the historic US Supreme Court ruling. (READ: 12 best quotes, excerpts from #LoveWins decision)

In the Philippines, netizens have shown support for same-sex marriage by adopting a Facebook gimmick to add to their profile photos the rainbow colors that have symbolized the fight for marriage equality in America. 

The Laylo survey debunks the Facebook trend, however.

It shows that survey respondents belonging to the ABC – the rich and middle class Filipinos who predominantly have access to the Internet – have the strongest bias (77%) against same-sex marriage.

But the numbers are almost the same, based on error margins, from Luzon to Mindanao among the rich and the poor (67% among D) and the poorest (74% among E). It’s almost the same among the men (69%) and women (71%); young (64%) and old (73%).

– Rappler.com