Vice President Sara Duterte emerged as the only top national official to receive a majority approval rating in the latest Pulse Asia "Ulat ng Bayan" survey conducted in March 2025.

Among the country’s four highest-ranking government officials — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Vice President Sara Duterte, Senate President Francis Escudero, and House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez — it was only Duterte who earned majority support, with 59 percent of Filipinos approving of her performance. She also registered a 25 percent indecision rating and a 16 percent disapproval score.

In contrast, President Marcos garnered only a 25 percent approval rating. About 22 percent of respondents were undecided, while a majority, 53 percent, disapproved of his performance.

Senate President Escudero received an approval rating of 39 percent, with 44 percent of Filipinos undecided about his work and 18 percent disapproving.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Romualdez posted the lowest approval among the four officials, with just 14 percent of Filipinos saying they were satisfied with his performance. A significant 54 percent disapproved of him, while 31 percent remained undecided.

Performance trends

In terms of performance changes, Vice President Duterte was the only official who experienced an improvement in her ratings. Her approval rose from 52 percent in February to 59 percent in March, while her disapproval rating dropped from 26 percent to 16 percent over the same period.

As for trust ratings, a majority of Filipinos, 54 percent, said they do not trust President Marcos.

For Senate President Escudero, 41 percent remained ambivalent about his trustworthiness, while a majority, 57 percent, said they distrust House Speaker Romualdez.

Trust ratings

When compared with the February 2025 Pulso ng Bayan survey, Duterte also recorded the only increase in trust rating among the top officials. Her trust score rose by eight percentage points, from 53 percent in February to 61 percent in March.

President Marcos saw a sharp decline in trust, with his score dropping from 42 percent to 25 percent, while his distrust rating increased from 32 percent to 54 percent.

Romualdez also suffered a 15-point increase in distrust, from 42 percent in February to 57 percent in March.

Meanwhile, Escudero experienced a decline in trust rating from 47 percent to 38 percent, accompanied by a rise in distrust from 14 percent to 20 percent.

The results are based on a nationwide survey conducted by Pulse Asia from 23 to 29 March 2025, involving 2,400 adult respondents selected through multi-stage probability sampling.