President Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte maintained their approval and trust ratings in the December 2023 Pulse Asia survey results released on Monday, Jan. 8.

Pulse Asia said President Marcos received 68 percent approval in December, while Vice President Duterte got 74 percent.

Although the President and Vice President’s approval ratings increased by three percentage points and one percentage point, respectively, from the previous quarter, Pulse Asia’s report of an error margin of ± 2.8 percent for national findings means that this movement is not significant.

“The overall performance scores of the country’s leading government officials remain essentially unchanged between September 2023 and December 2023 although there are several marked movements across geographic and socio-economic subgroupings,” Pulse Asia said in its report.

“The President and the Vice President both have majority approval scores in every area (62 percent to 74 percent and 61 percent to 93 percent, respectively) and class (63 percent to 69 percent and 72 percent to 79 percent, respectively),” it pointed out.

According to Pulse Asia, the only notable movement in the President’s approval rating was in Class E, which increased (+15 percentage points) during this period, while indecision in Class E decreased (-19 percentage points).

Meanwhile, disapproval of the President’s performance increased (+12 percentage points) in the Visayas.

Pulse Asia also noted that the only marked movement in the Vice President’s performance ratings is the 12-percentage point drop in her approval score in the Visayas.

Trust ratings

Meanwhile, President Marcos and Vice President Duterte received 73 percent and 78 percent trust ratings, respectively, in the latest Pulse Asia survey.

The President’s and Vice President’s trust ratings increased by two and three percentage points, respectively, from the September 2023 survey, but these increases are not statistically significant because of the 2.8 percent margin of error for national estimates.

“Public opinion regarding the trustworthiness of the top national government officials hardly changed between September 2023 and December 2023, both at the national level and across subgroupings,” Pulse Asia said.

“Majority trust ratings are enjoyed by the President and the Vice President in the different areas (70 percent to 76 percent and 69 percent to 96 percent, respectively) and classes (71 percent to 74 percent and 77 percent to 84 percent, respectively),” it added.

Approval, trust ratings of Zubiri, Romualdez

In the same survey period, nearly half of Filipinos (49 percent) have expressed approval of the work done by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri in the past three months.

Most Visayans (55 percent), Mindanawons (60 percent), and those in Class D (51 percent) approve of the Senate President’s work.

Indecision on the matter is the prevailing sentiment in Metro Manila (54 percent), while almost the same percentages in the rest of Luzon, Class ABC, and Class E either approve of the lawmaker’s work (34 percent to 48 percent) or are undecided on the matter (39 percent to 45 percent).

In the case of Speaker Martin Romualdez, 39 percent expressed their approval, while 48 percent were unable to say if they approve or disapprove of his performance.

Most Metro Manilans (55 percent) and those in the rest of Luzon (52 percent) as well as half of those in Class D (50 percent) were unable to say whether they approve or disapprove of the House Speaker’s work in the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, Zubiri received a trust rating of 51 percent, while Romualdez got a rating of 40 percent.

“A near majority of Filipino adults (46 percent) are ambivalent about the trustworthiness of House Speaker Romualdez,” Pulse Asia said.

It also noted that trust is the majority sentiment toward Zubiri in most areas (51 percent to 58 percent) and Class D (53 percent), while “near to small majorities” in the rest of Luzon (54 percent) and Class D (47 percent) expressed indecision regarding the trustworthiness of Romualdez.

Pulse Asia’s December 2023 “Ulat ng Bayan” survey had 1,200 respondents and was conducted from Dec. 3 to 7.