Vice President Sara Duterte said she was surprised by the sudden leap in her approval and trust ratings despite the political attacks that have been hurled against her.

“Well, nagulat ako nung nakita po yung numbers ng pagtitiwala ng mga tao sa akin (I was surprised when I saw that the people trust me),” she said in an interview in Danao City on Tuesday, April 22.

“Dahil sa sobrang dami nang lumabas ng paninira sa kung saan man galing, sa mga politiko, galing sa social media, lahat, all sides, merong paninira. Nakakagulat na tumataas ‘yung numbers (Because of the defamation done to me from politicians, from social media, all sides, they malign me. I am surprised that the numbers are still improving),” she added.

The latest Ulat ng Bayan survey by Pulse Asia Research released last week showed that the Vice President continues to enjoy high trust and approval ratings.

Her approval ratings improved from 52 percent in February to 59 percent in March. Her trust ratings also went up from 53 percent to 61 percent during the same period.

Her approval rating increased across all regions, particularly in Metro Manila, where it improved to 55 percent from 33 percent. Her highest rating is still in home region of Mindanao at 96 percent, followed by Visayas at 68 percent

Though her Luzon, except Metro Manila, approval rating is the lowest, it still went up to 39 percent from 34 percent.

Among socioeconomic classes, her approval remained the highest in the Class E—from 61 percent to 74 percent, followed by Class ABC, up to 60 percent from 49 percent. Class D has her at 58 percent from 51 percent.

Duterte’s trust rating also vastly improved in Metro Manila, up by a whopping 23 points, from 33 percent to 56 percent.

In Mindanao, her trust rating is at 97 percent while among classes, Class E gave her the highest trust rating at 75 percent, followed by Class ABC at 64 percent.

The Vice President, whose ratings increased after her former president Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest, said what her political opponents don’t understand is that her numbers won’t go to Speaker Martin Romualdez even if she decides not to run for the presidency in 2028.

“At naisip ko na sa sobrang sira nila ng pangalan ko, sinabi ko na ito noon, sabi ko, hindi naman kasi lumilipat sa numbers ni Martin Romualdez (And I thought that no matter how much they destroy my name, I already said this before, I said, it won’t go to Martin Romualdez’s numbers),” she added.

“Kasi nga, sinabi ko nga din noon, na kapag hindi ako tumakbong presidente, hindi pupunta yung boto ko kay Martin Romualdez. Pupunta siya sa ibang kandidato (I also said before that if I don’t run for president, my votes will not go to Martin Romualdez. They will go to another candidate).”

Both she and Romualdez have yet to address reports that they are planning to seek Malacañang once President Marcos’ term ends in 2028. Romualdez is the President’s first cousin.

The elder Duterte claimed that his daughter would be a shoo-in for the presidency because of his arrest.

“Dapat naiintindihan nila ‘yan ngayon. Pero siyempre, hindi nila maitindihan ‘yan kasi mga brilliant lang na mga tao po ang nakakaintindi na saan ba pupunta ang boto (They should understand that by now. But of course, they don’t understand that because only brilliant people can understand where my votes will go),” she said.

The Vice President was impeached by Congress on Feb. 5, and is set to face the Senate’s impeachment trial this July.

Grounds for her impeachment include the misuse of government funds, incitement to insurrection, and other impeachable offenses.