Trust in Duterte ‘excellent’; cracks show

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte maintained his “excellent” trust rating among Filipinos this quarter, despite palpable drops in Metro Manila and among respondents belonging to the country’s top socioeconomic class, according to a new Social Weather Stations (SWS) report.

The Fourth Quarter 2016 Social Weather Survey — conducted on Dec. 3- 6 via face- to- face interviews with 1,500 adults nationwide and with sampling error margins of ±3 points for national percentages, ±4 for “Balance Luzon” as well as ±6 points each for Metro Manila, the Visayas and Mindanao — found 81% of adult Filipinos with “much trust” in Mr. Duterte, nine percent with “little trust” and 10% “undecided.”

That yielded a net trust rating of +72 (% “much trust” minus % “little trust”), classified by SWS as “excellent.”

The SWS classifies net trust ratings of at least +70 as “excellent”; +50 to +69 as “very good”; + 30 to + 49, “good”; + 10 to + 29, “moderate”; +9 to -9, “neutral”; - 10 to - 29, “poor”; - 30 to - 49, “bad”; - 50 to - 69, “very bad” as well as -70 and below as “execrable.”

The fourth- quarter result is four points less than the “excellent” +76 (83% “much trust,” eight percent “little trust”) Mr. Duterte got in the September survey.

He also bagged an “excellent” +79 (84% “much trust,” five percent “little trust”) in the survey conducted days before his inauguration on June 30.

SWS said in a summary of its survey findings that its question on trust rating differs from that on satisfaction rating as the former gauges public trust in a personality in general, while the latter asks about public satisfaction with an individual’s performance in relation to his position or duty.

‘EXCELLENT’ ONLY IN MINDANAO

The SWS attributed the fourpoint drop of Mr. Duterte’s overall trust rating to declines in Metro Manila, Mindanao and the Visayas that offset a steady score in “Balance Luzon.”

Mr. Duterte’s trust rating in Mindanao stayed “excellent” but slipped seven points to + 85 in December from September’s +92.

His rating in “Balance Luzon” steadied at a “very good” +69 in December from September.

However, it fell by one grade and 11 points in Metro Manila to a “very good” +65 in December from September’s “excellent” +76.

It also fell by a grade and four points in the Visayas to a “very good”+69 in December from an “excellent” +73 in September.