VP Sara tops approval, trust ratings in new Pulse Asia survey

Vice President Sara Duterte received the highest approval and trust ratings – 74 percent and 78 percent, respectively – among the four most powerful public officials in the country, the latest Pulse Asia survey showed on Monday.

The latest survey results, done between 3 and 7 December 2023, showed that Duterte's approval rating increased by one percentage point from 73 percent in September 2023.

Her trust rating climbed slightly by three percentage points to 78 percent in December from 75 percent in September 2023.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. came in second with 68 percent approval ratings and 73 percent trust ratings.

The President's approval rating increased by three percentage points from 65 percent last September, while his trust ratings improved by two percentage points from 71 percent in the previous quarter.

"The overall performance scores of the country's leading government officials remain essentially unchanged between September 2023 and December 2023, although there are several marked movements across geographic and socio-economic subgroupings," Pulse Asia said in its report.

"The President and the Vice President both have majority approval scores in every area (62 percent to 74 percent and 61 percent to 93 percent, respectively) and class (63 percent to 69 percent and 72 percent to 79 percent, respectively)," the private pollster pointed out.

Pulse Asia also mentioned that public opinion regarding the trustworthiness of both the President and Vice President hardly changed between September 2023 and December 2023, both at the national level and across subgroupings.

Majority trust ratings are enjoyed by the President and the Vice President in the different areas (70 percent to 76 percent and 69 percent to 96 percent, respectively) and classes (71 percent to 74 percent and 77 percent to 84 percent, respectively).

Senate President, House Speaker ratings

Meanwhile, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri's numbers settled with 51 percent trust and 49 percent approval ratings last December 2023.

The Senate President's trust rating increased by two percentage points from his September 2023 trust rating score of 49 percent.

However, Zubiri's approval rating last December decreased by one percent from his previous quarter's score of 50 percent.

The majority of Mindanawons (60 percent) and Class D people (51 percent), as well as Visayans (55 percent), think favorably of the Senate President's job.

Most people in Metro Manila (54 percent) are unsure about Zubiri's work, although nearly identical numbers in Class ABC, Class E, and the rest of Luzon (34 to 48 percent) either agree with the legislator's work or are unsure about it (39 to 45 percent).

Speaker Martin Romualdez had the lowest rating out of the four officials, with a 39 percent approval and 40 percent trust rating.

The House Speaker's approval rating last December fell by two percentage points from 41 percent last September.

But his trust rating increased by two percent from 38 percent in the previous quarter.

"A near majority of Filipino adults (46 percent) are ambivalent about the trustworthiness of House Speaker Romualdez," Pulse Asia said.

The majority of people in Class D (50 percent), those in the rest of Luzon (52 percent), and those in Metro Manila (55 percent) were unable to state if they approved or disapproved of the work done by the House Speaker in the preceding quarter.