Pulse Asia: Big majority of Filipinos Approve, Trust President Marcos Jr. and Vice President Duterte but VP gets Higher Ratings

by Pulse Asia

While four (4) of the leading national government officials register majority approval ratings in March 2023, only two (2) are trusted by most of the country’s adult population; presidential and vice-presidential ratings are virtually unchanged between November 2022 and March 2023 while the other top officials experience marked movements in their respective ratings

Bare to big majority approval ratings are recorded by the President (78%), the Vice-President (83%), Senate President Juan Miguel F. Zubiri (51%), and House Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez (51%) in Pulse Asia Research’s March 2023 nationwide survey. In the case of Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo, basically the same percentages of Filipino adults either approve of his quarterly performance (43%) or are ambivalent on the matter (41%). Levels of disapproval for these officials’ performance range from 4% for the Vice-President to 15% for the Supreme Court Chief Justice. (Please refer to Table 1.)

Table 1
AWARENESS & PERFORMANCE RATINGS OF TOP NATIONAL OFFICIALS

March 15 - 19, 2023 / Philippines
(In Percent)

Majority approval scores are enjoyed by the President and the Vice-President in all geographic areas (68% to 93% and 72% to 98%, respectively) and socio-economic groupings (65% to 87% and 70% to 95%, respectively). For his part, Senate President Zubiri posts majority approval figures in Metro Manila (54%), the Visayas (70%), Mindanao (73%), and Class E (69%). In the rest of Luzon, indecision is the predominant sentiment toward the latter’s work (53%). Half of those in Class ABC (50%) cannot say if they approve or disapprove of the Senate President’s performance while a similar percentage of those in Class D (50%) have a positive assessment of his work. (Please refer to Table 2.)

Table 2
PERFORMANCE RATINGS OF TOP NATIONAL OFFICIALS

March 15 - 19, 2023 / Philippines
(In Percent)

Most Metro Manilans (57%), Visayans (77%), Mindanawons (58%), and those in Class E (66%) are appreciative of the work done by House Speaker Romualdez. Half of those in Class D (50%) share this assessment. However, near to bare majorities in the rest of Luzon (48%) and Class ABC (51%) are unable to say if they approve or disapprove of the latter’s performance.

About the same approval and indecision ratings are registered by Supreme Court Chief Justice Gesmundo in Metro Manila (47% versus 42%), the rest of Luzon (38% versus 48%), the Visayas (40% versus 34%), Class D (45% versus 41%), and Class E (42% versus 38%). Approval is the plurality opinion regarding the latter’s performance among Mindanawons (49%) among those in Class ABC, almost half (48%) are ambivalent on the matter.

Public opinion regarding the performance of the President and the Vice-President remains essentially constant between November 2022 and March 2023. In contrast, Senate President Zubiri, House Speaker Romualdez, and Supreme Court Chief Justice Gesmundo experience significant changes in their respective performance ratings during this period. Appreciation for Senate President Zubiri’s performance eases in Class ABC (-25 percentage points) while ambivalence on the matter becomes more pronounced in the same subgrouping (+22 percentage points). (Please refer to Table 3.)

Table 3
COMPARATIVE PERFORMANCE RATINGS OF TOP NATIONAL OFFICIALS

November 2022 and March 2023 / Philippines
(In Percent)

House Speaker Romualdez enjoys improvements in his approval figures in Metro Manila and the Visayas (both at +12 percentage points) while his indecision score drops in Mindanao (-12 percentage points). As for Supreme Court Chief Justice Gesmundo, his approval ratings go up not only at the national level (+16 percentage points) but also in Metro Manila (+17 percentage points), the rest of Luzon (+19 percentage points), Mindanao (+12 percentage points), and Class D (+18 percentage points). At the same time, indecision toward the latter’s performance becomes less pronounced in the Philippines as a whole (-13 percentage points) and in the Visayas (-12 percentage points), Mindanao (-22 percentage points), and Class D (-13 percentage points).

In terms of their trustworthiness, only the President and the Vice-President receive majority trust scores from the Filipino public (80% and 85%, respectively). Virtually the same trust and indecision figures are recorded by Senate President Zubiri (48% versus 43%) and House Speaker Romualdez (44% versus 43%). A big plurality of Filipino adults (45%) cannot say if they trust or distrust Supreme Court Chief Justice Gesmundo. The distrust ratings of these top government officials vary from 3% for the Vice-President to 16% for the Supreme Court Chief Justice. (Please refer to Table 4.)

Table 4
AWARENESS & TRUST RATINGS OF TOP NATIONAL OFFICIALS

March 15 - 19, 2023 / Philippines
(Row Percent)

Similar to their performance ratings, the President and the Vice-President post majority trust figures across areas (73% to 93% and 76% to 97%, respectively) and classes (69% to 88% and 76% to 95%, respectively). Trust is the prevailing sentiment toward Senate President Zubiri in the Visayas (65%), Mindanao (74%), and Class E (67%) while most of those in the rest of Luzon (60%) are undecided on the matter of trusting or distrusting him. About the same percentages of Metro Manilans and those belonging to either Class ABC or Class D either trust the lawmaker (44% to 48%) or are ambivalent regarding his trustworthiness (42% to 47%). (Please refer to Table 5.)

Table 5
TRUST RATINGS OF TOP NATIONAL OFFICIALS

March 15 - 19, 2023 / Philippines
(In Percent)

Most Visayans (70%), Mindanawons (51%), and those in Class E (57%) express trust in House Speaker Romualdez. In contrast, a small majority in the rest of Luzon (52%) is undecided regarding the latter’s trustworthiness. Nearly or exactly the same percentages of Metro Manilans and those in either Class ABC or D are either inclined to trust the House Speaker (35% to 43%) or are unable to say if they trust or distrust him (43% to 50%).

Near to small majorities in Metro Manila (53%) and Class E (48%) are ambivalent regarding the trustworthiness of Supreme Court Chief Justice Gesmundo. Meanwhile, in the other geographic areas and socio-economic groupings, the latter has almost or exact the same trust and indecision figures (37% to 44% versus 34% to 47%).

During the period November 2022 to March 2023, only Senate President Zubiri and Supreme Court Chief Justice Gesmundo experience notable movements in their respective trustworthiness ratings. The national trust rating of Senate President Zubiri declines (-6 percentage points) while his indecision figure in Class D goes up (+8 percentage points). Meanwhile, the Supreme Court Chief Justice registers changes in his overall trust and indecision ratings (+11 and -9 percentage points, respectively) as well as in his trust scores in the rest of Luzon and Class D (+19 and +12 percentage points, respectively) and his indecision ratings in the rest of Luzon (-12 percentage points), Class ABC (-21 percentage points), and Class D (-7 percentage points). (Please refer to Table 6.)

Table 6
COMPARATIVE TRUST RATINGS OF TOP NATIONAL OFFICIALS

November 2022 and March 2023 / Philippines
(In Percent)

Public assessment of the performance of the national administration is generally positive, with very few changes being recorded between November 2022 and March 2023

For its handling of seven (7) issues, out of the 12 issues on which its performance is assessed in the present survey, the national administration enjoys small to huge majority approval ratings – enforcing the rule of law (54%), protecting the environment (60%), defending national territorial integrity (61%), promoting peace (64%), fighting criminality (68%), protecting the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (75%), and responding to the needs of calamity-hit areas (76%). Approval is the plurality sentiment as regards the administration’s work in the areas of reducing poverty (39%), increasing workers’ pay (44%), creating more jobs (45%), and fighting corruption in government (47%). On the other hand, most adults (52%) are critical of the present dispensation’s efforts to control inflation – an issue identified by a sizeable majority of the country’s adult population as urgent1 (63%). Levels of indecision regarding the performance of the administration range from 19% on the issues of protecting the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and fighting criminality to 33% on the issue of enforcing the rule of law. (Please refer to Table 7.)

Table 7
PERCEIVED URGENCY OF SELECTED NATIONAL ISSUES AND
THE NATIONAL ADMINISTRATION'S PERFORMANCE RATINGS

March 15 - 19, 2023 / Philippines
(Row Percent)

An urgent issue is one that, according to survey respondents, requires the immediate attention of the national administration.

From November 2022 to March 2023, the only improvement in the national administration’s approval scores is recorded on the issue on poverty reduction (+9 percentage points). In contrast, appreciation for the latter’s performance eases in relation to its handling of two (2) issues – enforcing the rule of law and increasing the pay of workers (both at -6 percentage points). Aside from these changes, the only other notable movement in the administration’s performance ratings is the drop in its indecision rating on the issue of poverty reduction (-11 percentage points). (Please refer to Table 8.)

Table 7
COMPARATIVE RATINGS OF THE NATIONAL
ADMINISTRATION ON SELECTED NATIONAL ISSUES

November 2022 and March 2023 / Philippines
(In Percent)