By Ellalyn De Vera-Ruiz
Filipinos’ trust in the United States remained “excellent” while trust for China, Japan, Australia, Vietnam, and Singapore declined in the third-quarter 2019 Social Weather Stations survey results.
(MANILA BULLETIN)
Based on the survey conducted from September 27 to 30 with 1,800 respondents, SWS found that net trust ratings (percentage with much trust minus percentage with little trust) were “excellent” +72 for the United States, “good” +37 for Australia and +35 for Japan, “moderate” +26 for Singapore, “neutral” net zero for Vietnam, and “bad” -33 for China.
Net trust for the United States stayed excellent at +72 (80 percent much trust, 8 percent little trust), hardly different from +73 in June 2019.
According to SWS, net trust in the United States has been positive since it was first surveyed in December 1994, ranging from a moderate +18 in May 2005 to an excellent +82 in December 2013.
For China, Filipinos’ net trust fell from “poor” -24 in June 2019 to bad -33 (21 percent much trust, 54 percent little trust) in September 2019.
SWS pointed out that this has been the lowest since the bad -35 in June 2018. It cited that trust in China has been positive in only nine out of 51 surveys since SWS first surveyed it in August 1994.
It reached as high as a moderate +17 in June 2010 and as low as a bad -46 in September 2015.
Meanwhile, net trust stayed good for Japan, at +35 (56 percent much trust, 22 percent little trust) in September 2019, although down by 10 points from +45 (63 percent much trust, 18 percent little trust) in June 2019.
SWS said it first surveyed public trust in Japan in December 1994, and found neutral net ratings from December 1994 to December 1996, ranging from -2 to +9.
It rose to a moderate +17 in June 1997, and stayed at moderate to good levels until it reached a very good +54 in December 2017.
It fell to moderate +28 in September 2018 and rose to good levels from December 2018 to September 2019, ranging from +34 to +45.
Net trust rating also stayed good for Australia, at +37 (54 percent much trust, 17 percent little trust) in September 2019, although down by nine points from +46 in June 2019.
Net trust in Australia, SWS pointed out, was a moderate +11 when it first surveyed it in April 1995.
It ranged from neutral +3 to moderate +25 from September 1995 to March 2008.
It rose to good +31 in September 2008, and has since then been at +30 and above, except for a moderate +19 in September 2009.
For Singapore, net trust remained moderate at +26 (48 percent much trust, 21 percent little trust) in September 2019, although down by three points from the record-high +29 (47 percent much trust, 17 percent little trust) in December 2017.
Net trust in Singapore was a moderate +14 when SWS first surveyed it in August 1994.
It fell from poor to very bad levels from October 1995 to June 1997, ranging from -21 to -59, and recovered to moderate levels of +29 in December 2017 and +26 in September 2019.
Meanwhile, net trust went down from moderate to neutral for Vietnam, at net zero (31 percent much trust, 31 percent little trust) in September 2019, from +13 (34 percent much trust, 21 percent little trust) in December 2017.
SWS explained that net trust in Vietnam used to be at bad levels from March 1995 to June 1997, ranging from -32 to -48.
It rose to poor levels of -11 in June 2014 and -14 in September 2015, and reached a record-high moderate +13 in December 2017, then fell to neutral net zero in September 2019.