Filipinos prefer to 'trust' competent, consistent leaders — study

MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos tend to place greater trust in leaders and institutions they perceive as competent, consistent, transparent and driven by good intentions, a study revealed.

Exhibiting a deeper sense of trust, Filipinos today are more cautious and inclined to seek proof of fulfilled promises before extending trust.

These findings were emphasized in the 2024 Philippine Trust Study conducted by the EON Group in collaboration with the Department of Development Studies at Ateneo de Manila University. It was unveiled on Tuesday, November 5.  

The study, based on a nationwide survey of 1,800 respondents conducted from May to September 2024, supplemented quantitative data with focus group discussions (FGDs) to add context to Filipinos’ responses.

Using a three-pronged framework, the study examined how Filipinos perceive trust, whom they trust and the factors that drive trust in institutions.

Although surveys typically indicate high levels of trust among Filipinos, often around 90% or more, the FGDs found that this trust is “not full or absolute.”

So where is Filipino trust rooted, how is it defined and what behaviors reflect it?

How Filipinos understand trust

The study asked its respondents what kind of leaders they value. Across various institutions, whether in government, organizations or families, a significant majority (70-80%) of Filipinos strongly preferred consultative leaders over imposing ones.  

However, the study found that Filipinos hold polarized views on how they believe they should relate to leaders. About half of the respondents prefer leaders to be questioned, while the other half believes leaders should be obeyed.

On both sides, three in 10 Filipinos strongly preferred their respective choices.

Asked to define trust, Filipinos said it largely involves expecting leaders and institutions to “do their part.” The study suggested that this expectation may explain why the public often associates satisfaction with trust.

Other descriptions shared by the respondents include how trust is shaped by time and shared experiences, how it is “fragile,” and how it begins in the family where a person first develops the concept of trust.

From a behavioral standpoint, the study showed that Filipinos choose to trust because they believe it is necessary. However, it also comes with the expectation that leaders and institutions may fail. 

“[Filipinos] have no choice but to trust [leaders] because they have the power to do something,” Ateneo Development Studies assistant professor Kevin Go said. 

For Filipinos, they understand that the choices they make affect their and their families’ survival, while at the same time recognizing that the options they have are limited and may be dependent on socioeconomic conditions. 

This is why the study emphasized how Filipinos often “hope against hope,” meaning they hold onto hope despite uncertainty, wishing that the choice they make is the right one.

“Filipinos are careful in trusting and not fully trusting because there's a lot to lose,” EON Group President Malyn Molina said.  

Who Filipinos trust

Most Filipinos (98%) expressed the highest trust in themselves, followed by their bosses (95.6%), religious leaders (95%) and government leaders. Trust in strangers is the lowest, with around 19% expressing confidence in them.

Government. In government, Filipinos trust their local government leaders more than national government leaders, with over eight in ten (85.4%) expressing trust in LGUs, compared to seven in ten (70.7%) for national leaders.

Go attributed the high levels of trust in LGUs to the stronger familiarity Filipinos have with these local institutions.

When broken down by provincial, municipal, city or barangay government units, respondents gave trust ratings as high as 95%.

Filipinos also generally trust social protection agencies, the military, police authorities and coast guard, with trust ratings ranging from 85% to 95%.  

The most trusted government agencies are those that provide services Filipinos are familiar with, such as the Department of Education (97.7%), the Department of Health (97%) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (94.8%).

The least trusted, while still maintaining relatively high trust ratings, are the Department of Trade and Industry (75.1%) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (78.8%).

Businesses. Nearly 90% of Filipinos also trust businesses, with digital payment apps (83.1%) and real estate developers (79.6%) receiving the lowest trust ratings.

Factors influencing Filipinos' trust in businesses include product and service quality, proximity and familiarity, as well as reputation and sustainability, the latter being a primary concern among younger respondents.

However, it was underscored that patronage or consumption patterns do not necessarily indicate trust. Filipinos shared that they sometimes “just don’t have a choice” due to the limited variety of products or services available in their vicinity.

Media. Across news media, Filipinos trust broadcast media more, with TV (93.7%) and radio stations (90.6%) receiving higher trust ratings than print media and online news sites, which have trust ratings of around 60%.

Respondents noted that their trust in news outlets is undermined by their “perceived bias” of the media, expressing a desire for more “balanced” reporting that includes positive news and not just negative stories. 

Filipinos also highlighted the importance of having independent news media and journalists not influenced by financial interests.    

Academe. Trust in the academe is generally high, but there is notable distrust in public elementary and high schools (69%), compared to private schools and state universities and colleges, which have trust levels exceeding 90%. 

This is despite DepEd being the most trusted government agency. 

Religious groups. Considering the large proportion of Roman Catholic respondents, the study found that the Catholic Church (92.4%), Evangelical Churches (66.9%) and Iglesia ni Cristo (59.9%) are trusted more than Islam (48%). The least trusted is the Kingdom of Jesus Christ led by Apollo Quiboloy (28.9%). 

Asked how strongly Filipinos believe their religion “acts in their interest,” Muslims and INC members have a stronger belief in their religion compared to Roman Catholics. 

Non-government organizations. The study also found that many Filipinos are unfamiliar with NGOs and what they are, which is why 66% of respondents reported not trusting any NGO.

In the FGDs, it was revealed that Filipinos tend to confuse government programs for social welfare, like the distribution of goods and services, as forms of NGOs. 

What drives trust

To identify the key factors influencing Filipinos’ trust, the study presented respondents with 10 statements and asked them to select the three reasons they considered most important.

Filipinos' trust in leaders and institutions was primarily based on their perceptions of competence, good intentions, ethical standards, transparency, openness to ideas, and consistency in their actions, rather than the relationships they developed with them.

For the government, the most frequently chosen reasons were “They are competent” (36.9%), “They have good intentions” (38.4%) and “They assure me that they will behave or act the same way in the future” (34.9%). 

Filipinos shared similar reasons for trusting businesses, but with slightly higher emphasis on competence (43.8%), good intentions (39.7%), openness to ideas (38.9%), and adherence to ethical standards (35.8%).

Meanwhile, openness to ideas (45.1%) was the most important factor for Filipinos' trust in news media, followed by strict adherence to ethical standards (37.5%) and good intentions (37.2%).

For schools and universities, the same reasons were considered, but nearly half of Filipinos cited them as key factors for trust. The top reasons were perceived competence (47.3%) followed by good intentions (45.2%) and adherence to ethical standards (41.2%). 

Trust in religious groups was largely driven by the belief that they act in good faith (49.3%). Second and third to this were competence (36.4%) and following set standards (34.7%).  

For NGOs, however, many Filipinos were unsure what would make them trust these organizations (34.2%). Good intentions (33.4%) and competence (26.2%) were the most common responses.

The study also found that promises made and Filipinos’ belief in leaders still matter in sectors like the government and religious groups.

Filipinos said that leaders and institutions that are two-faced, fail to deliver, lack transparency and undermine the experiences of disadvantaged and marginalized groups will cause their trust to erode. 

The 2024 Philippine Trust Study is the ninth iteration of the EON Group’s research into trust which began in 2011. It is an expanded version of the Philippine Trust Index, increasing respondents from 800 to 1,800, including qualitative measures and lowering the margin of error to ± 2%.