Despite Cabinet exit, Sara Duterte maintains top approval, trust ratings – Pulse Asia

Vice President Sara Duterte's approval ratings are up in almost all key geographic areas, except for Balance Luzon

MANILA, Philippines – Despite her exit from the Marcos Cabinet, Vice President Sara Duterte still had the highest approval and trust ratings among top government officials, according to a Pulse Asia survey released on Wednesday, July 17.

The Vice President’s approval rating nationally in June was at 69%, up from 67% in March. Her approval ratings improved in almost all key geographic areas, except for Balance Luzon.

• Metro Manila – 64% from 52%
• Balance Luzon – 54% from 61%
• Visayas – 80% from 64%
• Mindanao – 95% from 92%

Among the economic brackets, Duterte’s approval rating was up by 17 percentage points in Class E from 65% to 82%. However, her approval rating among Class ABC dipped by 6 percentage points, which was at 57%. Her rating was up by a single percentage point in Class D at 69%.

Meanwhile, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. got 53% and House Speaker Martin Romualdez had 45%, nationally. No rating was provided for Senate President Chiz Escudero as he only assumed the Senate leadership on May 20.

As for the trust ratings of the other top officials, Duterte still had the highest at 71%. She was statistically tied with Escudero, who was at 69%. Meanwhile, Marcos and Romualdez obtained 52% and 35%, respectively.

“Both the Vice-President and the Senate President have majority trust ratings in each geographic area (56% to 95% and 64% to 75%, respectively) and socio-economic class (59% to 80% and 63% to 74%, respectively),” Pulse Asia noted in its report.

The pollster also noted that Marcos recorded majority trust scores in Metro Manila (59%), the rest of Luzon (58%), the Visayas (54%), and Class D (53%) while near majority figures were posted in Class ABC (50%) and Class E (48%).

“Mindanawons are divided in their assessment of presidential trustworthiness, with 35% trusting him, 33% being unable to say if they trust or distrust him, and 32% expressing distrust in him,” it said.

The survey was conducted among 2,400 respondents aged 18 and above using face-to-face interviews, with a ± 2% error margin at 95% confidence level. Subnational estimates for each of the geographic areas covered in the survey have a ± 4% error margin, also at 95% confidence level. 

The survey was conducted among 2,400 respondents aged 18 and above using face-to-face interviews from June 17 to 24, with a ± 2% error margin at 95% confidence level. Subnational estimates for each of the geographic areas covered in the survey have a ± 4% error margin, also at 95% confidence level.

Duterte resigned from the Marcos Cabinet on June 19, confirming the rift inside the Uniteam coalition forged in the 2022 elections for the Marcos-Duterte tandem. Duterte said that she was resigning as education chief “out of concern for teachers and the Filipino youth.” 

In a statement on Monday, Escudero thanked the public for the trust and support.

“Ang mga survey ay pabago-bago at ang mataas na numero sa anumang survey ay inspirasyon sa amin at ang mababang numero ay aral at gabay para sa amin,” he said.

(Survey results are changing, and any high numbers in surveys are an inspiration to us, while low numbers are a lesson and a guide to us.)

“Subalit mataas man o mababa, patuloy lang kaming magta-trabaho at gagampanan ang aming tungkulin alang-alang sa mas nakatataas na interes ng Bansa at sambayanan,” Escudero added.

(However, whether high or low, we will continue to work and respond to our duties without hesitancy for the best interest of the country and the public.) – Rappler.com