DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The World Values Survey results show most Filipinos choose “security” over “freedom.” But in a country where poverty and government abuse define daily life, true security cannot exist without freedom — and freedom cannot survive without security.
The survey leaves security and freedom absolutely under-defined and it becomes tricky.
Based on data from the 7th wave of the World Values Survey, Dr. Alicor Panao, a data scientist for the Inquirer, said that when asked to choose between freedom and security, only 31.6 percent of Filipinos said freedom was more important, while 68.3 percent chose security.
For ordinary Filipinos, security is rarely about foreign invasion or military defense. It is about survival. It means food on the table, stable jobs, protection from crime, and relief from poverty.
In a country where hunger and inequality remain everyday realities, choosing security is often a choice for life itself.Yet security also has a darker side. Citizens often feel insecure not because of external threats, but because of their own government. Corruption, abuse of power, and weak institutions leave people vulnerable.
On one hand, if “security” means trusting the state to protect its citizens, then many Filipinos know that this promise is broken.
On the other hand, freedom is more than independence from foreign powers. It is the right to speak, to organize, to live without fear of harassment or violence. It is the dignity of being treated as a citizen, not a subject. But freedom without security can feel hollow.
What good is free speech if families go hungry? What good is the right to vote if people remain trapped in poverty?The truth is that Filipinos do not reject freedom. They simply recognize that freedom cannot be enjoyed without basic security. And security, if it comes at the cost of freedom, is only another form of control. The survey’s binary framing — freedom versus security — oversimplifies a reality where people want both.
The challenge, then, is not to pit freedom against security, but to demand security that protects rights and freedom that ensures dignity. Anything less is a false choice. This is especially urgent in the Philippine context, where insecurity often comes from the state itself. Citizens must insist that security means protection from hunger and violence, not surveillance or repression. And freedom must mean more than words on paper — it must be lived in everyday life, without fear of those in power.
The survey result should therefore be read carefully. It does not mean Filipinos value freedom less. It means that in a country where poverty, hunger, and government abuse are real, people may see “security” as survival. But true security must include freedom. Otherwise, it is not security at all — it is control dressed up as protection.(davaotoday.com)
