Marcos trust dips, VP Sara gains in March

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s public trust and performance ratings significantly declined in March, while Vice President Sara Duterte's numbers increased, according to the latest Pulse Asia Research survey.

In the results of Pulse Asia’s March 2025 Ulat ng Bayan survey released on 16 April, President Marcos’ approval rating dropped by 17 percentage points—from 42 percent in February to 25 percent in March.

His disapproval rating, meanwhile, surged by 21 percentage points, reaching 53 percent, while 22 percent are undecided.

Marcos’ performance rating dropped most sharply in the National Capital Region, with a 24 percentage point decrease, followed by declines in Balanced Luzon (-20), Mindanao (-14), and the Visayas (-10).

In terms of socioeconomic classes, Marcos’ public approval rating saw the largest decline among Class D (-18), followed by Class E (-12), and then Class ABC (-9).

The majority of Filipinos, or 54%, expressed distrust toward the President, a sharp increase from 32% in the previous survey, while his trust rating significantly dropped from 42% in February to 25% in March.

The decline in his trust rating was most pronounced in NCR, dropping by 24 percentage points. It was followed by Balanced Luzon with a decrease of 22 points, Mindanao with 13, and the Visayas with 9.

Marcos’ trust rating also saw the steepest decline among Class D (-18), followed by Class E (-10), and Class ABC (-8).

The Vice President, on the other hand, was the only top government official whose performance ratings improved, with her approval rating rising from 52% to 59%, and her disapproval rating decreasing from 26% to 16%.

Duterte’s approval rating was highest in NCR (+22), followed by the Visayas (+17), Balanced Luzon (+5), and Mindanao (+3), with the greatest gains among Class E (+13), Class ABC (+11), and Class D (+7).

Also, only Duterte received a majority trust rating in March 2025. Her trust score also increased by 8 percentage points, rising from 53% in February to 61% in March, while 16% expressed distrust of her.

Duterte’s trust rating mostly improved in NCR (+23), followed by the Visayas (+16), Balanced Luzon (+5), and Mindanao (+3). Class ABC (+14) and Class E (+13) also showed increased trust in her, as well as Class D with +7.

The survey was conducted from March 23 to 29, 2025, with 2,400 adult Filipinos selected through multi-stage probability sampling.

The respondents were interviewed face-to-face.

It has a margin of error of ±2% for the entire country, ±6% for NCR, ±5% for the Visayas, and ±4% for Northern/Central Luzon, Southern Luzon, and Mindanao, all at a 95% confidence level.

DAILY TRIBUNE has reached out to the offices of the President and Vice President for comment on the survey, but they have yet to respond.