Many Filipinos remain critical of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., citing his failure to curb rising commodity prices, according to a Pulse Asia survey conducted in the first quarter.

Meanwhile, skepticism of Vice President Sara Duterte also rose to 51 percent, with respondents citing her alleged involvement in corruption, an issue raised in the impeachment complaints filed against her before the House of Representatives.

“Although a plurality of Filipino adults (44 percent) distrust the President, they are divided in their reasons for holding a negative view of his trustworthiness. The leading reasons cited — by nearly equal proportions of those expressing distrust — are his failure to fight corruption (16.7 percent), fulfill his promises (15.3 percent), perform his duties (13.8 percent), control the prices of goods (12.3 percent), and address criminality (10.1 percent), as well as his alleged involvement in corrupt activities (12 percent). Other reasons were cited by at most 9.2 percent of respondents,” the survey, titled Ulat ng Bayan and released Tuesday, said.

Coming to aid during calamity counts

At the national level, other reasons for trusting the President mentioned by at least a tenth of those who have a positive opinion are the help extended to calamity-hit areas (12.4 percent), the success of his administration’s programs in improving the lives of Filipinos (10.9 percent), and his efforts to help farmers (9.9 percent).

Other reasons were given by at most 4.9 percent of those who trust the latter.

Meanwhile, the survey found that Filipinos with a negative view of the Vice President are divided, with those expressing distrust primarily citing her alleged involvement in corrupt activities, particularly her failure to address the reported misuse of confidential funds.

VP Sara also takes hit

“The majority of Filipino adults who trust the Vice President (54 percent) are likewise divided as to the reasons behind this sentiment. The leading factors cited for their positive view of her perceived capability to govern (12.8 percent), pro-poor stance (12.7 percent), courage (12.4 percent), and helpfulness (9.1 percent), as well as her strong convictions (9 percent) and quick response to calamities (7.9 percent),” the survey said.

Moreover, the Pulse Asia survey found that Sara’s alleged involvement in corrupt activities was the leading reason for respondents’ distrust of her, not only in the Philippines as a whole (51.5 percent) but also across areas and classes (47.9 to 90.7 percent and 47.8 to 60.3 percent, respectively).

“Around a fifth of those distrusting the latter (21.4 percent) attribute this sentiment to the threats she has made against the administration and those critical of her.”

“Other reasons for distrusting the Vice President are given by at most 5.4 percent of those with a negative sentiment toward her trustworthiness,” the survey said.

The nationwide survey was conducted from 27 February to 2 March using face-to-face interviews, based on a sample of 1,200 representative adults aged 18 and above.