Marcos sees NCR approval surge despite national dip

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. saw a surprising 14-point increase in his approval rating in the National Capital Region (NCR) last June, despite a two-percent decline nationwide, according to private pollster Pulse Asia.

Traditionally an opposition bailiwick, Metro Manila gave the President a 61-percent approval rating, up from 47 last March, according to Pulse Asia’s June 2024 Ulat ng Bayan national survey released on Wednesday.

Marcos’ trust rating in the NCR also increased to 59 percent, up by four percentage points from last March.

However, his nationwide approval and trust ratings declined slightly while Vice President Sara Duterte’s numbers increased.

Marcos got a 53 percent approval rating for his performance as of June — a two-point decline from his 55 percent rating in March.

His approval rating significantly declined in Luzon, dropping by nine percentage points from 66 to 57. In Mindanao, there was a slight decrease of two points, from 40 to 38, while in the Visayas he had a modest two-point increase, from 54 to 56.

Among Classes ABC, Marcos’ approval rating plummeted by 13 percentage points, with a smaller three-point drop observed in Class D. Conversely, in the Class E income bracket, his approval rating increased by four points. Additionally, Marcos’ trust rating declined by 5 percent, decreasing from 57 percent in March to 52 percent in June.

He maintained his trust rating in the Visayas at 54 percent.

However, in Luzon his trust rating declined by 9 percentage points from 67 percent in March to 58 percent in June, and Mindanao by 3 percentage points from 38 percent in March to 35 percent in June.

VP Sara’s performance

In the same survey, Vice President Sara Duterte performed better in both her approval and trust ratings.

Following her departure from the Cabinet, Duterte’s approval rating rose by two points, climbing from 67 percent in March to 69 percent in June.

Her trust rating remained steady at 71 percent in both May and June.

Duterte received majority approval ratings in all regions, with the highest in Mindanao at 95 percent, followed by 80 percent in the Visayas, 64 percent in Metro Manila, and 54 percent in Balance Luzon.

The Vice President’s trust ratings were highest in Mindanao at 95 percent, followed by 72 percent in the Visayas, 62 percent in Balance Luzon, and 60 percent in Metro Manila.

Among the economic brackets, Duterte’s approval rating saw a significant increase of 17 points in Class E, rising from 65 to 82. However, her approval rating among Classes ABC dropped by 6 points. In Class D, there was a minimal increase of one point.

Pulse Asia said the figures indicated that “appreciation continues to be the prevailing sentiment” towards the two highest-elected officials.

Romualdez, Escudero ratings

House Speaker Martin Romualdez’s performance and trust ratings in June were at 35 percent each, a slight improvement from his May ratings of 31 percent. His ratings were the lowest of the officials in the survey.

Typically, the survey included the Senate President. However, since Senate President Francis Escudero assumed the post only in May, he was included only in the trust survey. Escudero garnered a trust rating of 69 percent in June.

The 17 to 24 June 2024 survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews with 2,400 adult respondents. It had a ± 2 percent margin of error at a 95 percent confidence level, with a ± 4 percent margin of error for each specific area.