FEWER PINOYS TRUST, APPROVE OF DUTERTE
Pulse Asia survey conducted March 15-20 among 1,200 respondents
Results of an independent survey released Wednesday showed a drop in the number of Filipinos who trust President Rodrigo Duterte, although he was still considered trustworthy by three-quarters of the respondents despite an impeachment complaint pending against him.
Results released by Pulse Asia Research Inc. showed that 76 percent of the 1,200 respondents expressed trust in Duterte, down seven percentage points from December.
Some 78 percent of respondents approved of his performance, down from 83 percent.
The nationwide survey was conducted March 15-20 — around the time a lawmaker filed an impeachment complaint against Duterte because of alleged corruption and the thousands of deaths in the president’s anti-drug crackdown.
Despite the decline, Pulse Asia noted that approval and trust continue to be the “predominant sentiments” toward the President, based on the latest poll.
“Public assessment of the President’s performance and trustworthiness remains generally unchanged between December 2016 and March 2017, with the exception of the seven-percentage point decline in his national trust,” Pulse Asia said.
The survey found that Duterte obtained the highest performance and trust scores in his bailiwick in Mindanao, getting 88 percent and 90 percent.
Duterte earned an approval rating of 86 percent in Visayas, 73 percent in Manila, and 73 percent in Balance Luzon.
Pulse Asia said that President Duterte got a trust score of 84 percent in Visayas, 74 percent in Manila, and 67 percent in Balance Luzon.
The impeachment complaint against Duterte faces an uphill battle, with the president’s allies holding an overwhelming majority in the House of Representatives.
In his complaint, Rep. Gary Alejano alleges that Duterte violated the constitution, committed bribery and corruption, and betrayed the public trust with his actions, including the crackdown, which has sparked extrajudicial killings. It also alleges that Duterte failed to declare huge bank deposits as required by law.
Other significant events covered during the poll period also included the Benham Rise controversy, retired policeman Arturo Lascañas’ admission that Duterte led the vigilante group Davao Death Squad and the socalled “NagaLeaks” aimed at discrediting Vice President Leni Robredo. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points, according to the pollster.