More think Philippines headed in wrong direction – OCTA poll

MANILA, Philippines — Two in every 10 Filipinos now believe that the country is headed in the wrong direction, according to the third quarter survey conducted by the OCTA Research Group.

While a majority still thinks that the country is headed in the right direction, the latest survey conducted from Sept. 30 to Oct. 4 showed that optimism among Filipinos has significantly declined over the past year.

According to the survey, only 62 percent think the country is headed in the right direction, down 10 points from 72 percent in a similar survey conducted in July 2023.

Optimism was 76 percent in March 2023 and 85 percent in October 2022, the first survey conducted by OCTA on the matter under the second Marcos administration.

Meanwhile, those who think that the country is headed in the wrong direction increased from 11 percent in July to 20 percent in the latest survey. It was 10 percent in March 2023 and only six percent in October 2022.

The remaining 18 percent said they do not know if the country is headed in the right or wrong direction, almost similar to the 17 percent ambivalence in the July poll.

Compared to the July survey, the percentage of respondents who think that the country is headed in the right direction decreased across all areas.

It was lowest among those in balance Luzon at 57 percent (from 71 percent), followed by those in the Visayas at 58 percent (from 65 percent), Metro Manila at 69 percent (from 74 percent) and Mindanao at 70 percent (from 78 percent).

It also dropped across socio-economic groups, with the lowest among class E at 60 percent (from 70 percent), closely followed by those in class ABC at 61 percent (from 74 percent) and class D at 62 percent (from 72 percent).

Meanwhile, those who think the country is headed in the wrong direction was highest among respondents in the Visayas at 23 percent (from 26 percent), followed by those in Mindanao at 21 percent (from 13 percent), balance Luzon at 19 percent (from four percent) and Metro Manila at 18 percent (from 13 percent).

Pessimism was highest among class ABC at 26 percent (from 15 percent), followed by class D at 20 percent (from 11 percent) and class E at 18 percent (from nine percent).

OCTA’s non-commissioned Tugon ng Masa survey had 1,200 respondents and a margin of error of plus/minus three percent.