As we welcome the New Year, it is timely to reflect on the meaning and implications of recent survey results on the public mood. We received a good number of inquiries from colleagues in the local government sector, as well as from our readers, concerning a couple of recent surveys conducted by the Social Weather Station (SWS).

One survey came up with findings that the job approval and trust rating of the President had taken a nosedive. Our colleagues and readers wanted to find out what we thought about the SWS report, saying that the President‘s net trust rating was at an all-time low of -3 percent nationwide.

A second, separate SWS survey focused on the public's overall outlook for the New Year. It indicated that the percentage of Filipinos who began 2026 with hope was at its lowest since 2009.

According to the first SWS poll, the President’s trust ratings weakened across most regions in November last year. In Metro Manila, it stood at -8; -7 in the Visayas region; and -37 in the Mindanao region.

The second survey said that some 89 percent of the respondents entered 2026 with hope, down from 90 percent in December 2024 and the lowest since the 89 percent obtained in December 2009. Meanwhile, 11 percent said they entered 2026 with fear, up from 10 percent in December 2024. It was also at 11 percent in December 2009.

If the SWS figures are accurate, we believe they simply express the public’s collective unease caused by recent developments, both in the country and elsewhere in the world.

It is possible that the President may be on the receiving end of the public’s unease over the situation. Clearly, not all of these can be blamed on the President. Other branches of the national bureaucracy are responsible for the lingering controversies. The way they have been handling current issues may have contributed to the public’s sentiments towards the President. This is unfair to the chief executive.

However, the Chief Executive lives by the leadership principle made famous by former United States President Harry Truman: “The buck stops here.”

A major factor may have been the controversies surrounding major infrastructure projects implemented by national government agencies – an issue which the President himself raised and had asked to be probed. It was the President who called attention to the list of contractors involved in controversial floor control projects. It was the job of other national agencies to look into the controversies unmasked by the President.

We surmise that the public may have grown uneasy over the unclear process with which the probe is being done. This may have been compounded by the resignations that rocked the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) and the mysterious death of a senior official of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). Aggravating the situation is the deterioration of the controversy into some kind of mystery novel littered with insinuations, innuendoes, and hearsay.

Our view is that the President is in a good position to rebound and recover precious public trust as the New Year sets in. One of the ways is for the national government agencies involved in the current issues to trigger a return to sobriety – to a more rational, logical approach to the resolution of the controversies.

It is important that the agencies involved stay away from the overuse of theatrics and dramatics, which simply serve to fuel adverse emotions on the part of an already uneasy public. With lowered emotional levels, the country can focus on addressing concerns regarding the economy and livelihood – the issues that matter a lot to ordinary Filipino families.