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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Marcos admin's approval ratings drop across most national issues — Pulse Asia

Marcos admin's approval ratings drop across most national issues — Pulse Asia

Published Oct 13, 2025 02:23 pm
(MARK BALMORES/MB PHOTO)
(MARK BALMORES/MB PHOTO)
The Marcos administration suffered a decline in approval ratings on most key national issues from June to September 2025, with corruption and inflation emerging as the public’s top concerns, the latest Ulat ng Bayan survey by Pulse Asia Research showed.
According to the survey in September 2025, the national administration recorded its only majority approval rating of 58 percent on the issue of protecting the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
“Public assessment of the administration’s quarterly performance across selected issues changes significantly not only from June 2025 to September 2025 but also over the past 12 months,” Pulse Asia said in a statement on  Monday, Oct. 13.
The survey revealed that most adults are critical of the administration’s handling of four issues - - -reducing poverty (57 percent), fighting illegal drugs (61 percent), controlling inflation (64 percent), and fighting corruption (69 percent).
“The last two (2) issues are the leading urgent national concerns in September 2025,” Pulse Asia noted.
Also, the survey firm said the Marcos administration obtained plurality disapproval ratings on the issues of workers’ pay (42 percent), involuntary hunger (43 percent), and criminality (44 percent).
While approval and indecision ratings were tied on protecting the environment (35 percent), Pulse Asia said the government registered almost the same disapproval and indecision levels on enforcing the rule of law (34 percent versus 36 percent).
Public opinion was divided on the administration’s performance in creating more jobs (34 percent approval, 30 percent indecision, 35 percent disapproval) and promoting peace (33 percent approval, 32 percent indecision, 35 percent disapproval).
Approval ratings decline across 9 issues
Pulse Asia said the administration experienced a decline in approval scores on nine out of 14 issues with comparable data from June to September 2025.
It said that these include jobs (–8 percentage points), criminality (–8), involuntary hunger (–8), environmental destruction (–9), peace (–9), graft and corruption (–11), rule of law (–13), assistance for farmers (–14), and disaster response (–17).
Meanwhile, the survey firm said disapproval ratings increased on assistance for farmers (+7), criminality (+8), disaster response (+10), and graft and corruption (+19).
“Disapproval eases only on workers’ pay (–6),” it added.
Per Pulse Asia, the ambivalence toward the administration’s handling of eight national issues also grew, including disaster response (+6), environmental destruction (+6), welfare of OFWs (+7), national territorial integrity (+7), assistance for farmers (+7), peace (+7), jobs (+9), and rule of law (+11).
“Indecision declines only on graft and corruption (–6),” it added.
Year-on-year: Rising disapproval, few gains
According to Pulse Asia, the Marcos administration posted year-on-year improvements in public approval solely in three areas: job creation (+6), wage increase (+14), and inflation control (+14).
“However, approval declines on protecting the environment (–5), welfare of OFWs (–7), rule of law (–10), fighting criminality (–11), disaster response (–13), and promoting peace (–14),” it reported.
Disapproval, however, climbed in 11 areas, led by fighting corruption (+25 percentage points), fighting criminality (+23), disaster response (+22), promoting peace (+18), enforcing the rule of law (+17), reducing poverty (+10), helping farmers (+10), protecting the environment (+10), addressing involuntary hunger (+6), defending national territorial integrity (+6), and protecting the welfare of OFWs (+6).
“The only decline in disapproval is seen on controlling inflation (–17),” Pulse Asia noted.
It added that levels of indecision toward the administration’s performance also dropped on several fronts: environmental degradation (–6), rule of law (–9), disaster response (–10), jobs (–10), involuntary hunger (–10), criminality (–12), assistance for farmers (–13), poverty (–14), workers’ pay (–17), and corruption (–23).

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