Marcos, Sara: Double-digit drop in approval, trust ratings

MANILA, Philippines — While still high, the approval and trust ratings of President Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte have seen “significant erosions” in the latest survey conducted by Pulse Asia.

The survey, conducted from Sept. 10 to 14, found that only 65 percent of the respondents approved of Marcos’ performance, down 15 points from the 80 percent he obtained in a similar survey conducted in June.

Some 10 percent said they disapprove of the President’s performance, up from six percent, while those who were undecided increased from 17 percent to 25 percent.

Marcos’ approval ratings decreased by double digits across all areas and socio-economic classes.

It remained the highest among those in the Visayas at 73 percent (from 87 percent), followed by those in balance Luzon at 66 percent (from 81 percent), Metro Manila at 60 percent (from 74 percent) and Mindanao at 60 percent (from 74 percent).

Those who approved of the President’s performance dropped by over 20 points among class ABC (from 75 percent to 53 percent) and E (from 82 percent to 53 percent) and 12 points among class D (from 80 percent to 68 percent).

Meanwhile, Duterte still obtained a higher approval rating than Marcos, although it dropped from 84 percent in June to 73 percent in the September survey.

Some five percent said they approved of Duterte’s performance, up from two percent, while those who were undecided increased from 14 percent to 22 percent.

Across areas, Duterte still obtained the highest approval rating in her bailiwick Mindanao at 87 percent (from 96 percent), followed by those in the Visayas at 85 percent (from 90 percent), balance Luzon at 64 percent (from 77 percent) and Metro Manila at 63 percent (from 75 percent).

It also dropped across socio-economic classes, with the highest among class E at 76 percent (from 84 percent), followed by those in class D at 68 percent (from 80 percent) and class ABC at 54 percent (from 72 percent).

Trust ratings

In terms of trust, Marcos obtained 71 percent in the latest survey, down 14 points from the 85 percent he obtained in the June poll.

Some six percent of the respondents said they distrust Marcos (from four percent), while 23 percent were undecided (from 11 percent).

Trust for the President was highest among those in the Visayas at 77 percent (from 90 percent), followed by those in Mindanao at 73 percent (from 78 percent), Metro Manila at 70 percent (from 78 percent) and the rest of Luzon at 68 percent (from 88 percent).

Duterte, meanwhile, obtained a trust rating of 75 percent, down from 87 percent in the June survey.

Those who distrusted her slightly increased to five percent (from three percent), while undecideds doubled to 20 percent (from 10 percent).

Across areas, trust in Duterte was highest among those in Mindanao at 92 percent (from 98 percent), followed by those in the Visayas at 83 percent (from 92 percent), Metro Manila at 75 percent (from 79 percent) and rest of Luzon at 64 percent (from 82 percent).

Other officials

Like Marcos and Duterte, the three other top officials of the country also experienced declines in their approval and trust ratings in the September survey.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri obtained an approval rating of 50 percent (from 56 percent) and trust rating of 49 percent (from 57 percent).

Meanwhile, the approval rating of Speaker Martin Romualdez dropped to 41 percent (from 52 percent), while his trust rating dropped to 38 percent (from 54 percent).

The approval and trust ratings of Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo dropped by 10 points to 34 percent (from 44 percent) and 33 percent (from 43 percent), respectively.

The survey had 1,200 adult respondents and a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percent.