Duterte, Robredo, Pimentel get high approval, trust scores

President Duterte continues to enjoy majority approval and trust scores, along with Vice President Leni Robredo and former Senate President Koko Pimentel, the results of the mid-2018 Pulse Asia survey showed.

Based on the survey results released by Pulse Asia Research on Friday, President Duterte obtained an approval score of 88 percent and a trust score of 87 percent.

The June 2018 survey showed that among the 1,800 respondents, only 3 percent disapproved the performance of the President, while 2 percent said they do not trust him.

Meanwhile, Robredo and Pimentel also obtained majority approval scores of 62 percent and 72 percent, respectively. The survey also said that 47 percent of Filipinos expressed appreciation for the work done by House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.

Robredo's trust scores also remain high at 56 percent, along with Pimentel at 64 percent and Alvarez at 45 percent.

At the national level, the leading government officials experience gains in public approval for their performance from March to June 2018.

President Duterte earned +8 percentage points, Robredo got a +7 percentage points, Pimentel, a +11 percentage points, and Alvarez with a +6 percentage points.

The overall trust ratings of President Duterte, former Senate President Pimentel, and House Speaker Alvarez went up between March and June 2018 (+9 to +11 percentage points).

Duterte and Pimentel both registered majority approval ratings across geographic areas (83 to 99 percent, and 66 to 81 percent, respectively) and socioeconomic groupings (84 to 91 percent and 67 to 76 percent, respectively).

Meanwhile, Robredo enjoys majority approval scores in every geographic area (56 to 73 percent) and in Classes D and E (both at 63 percent).

For House Speaker Alvarez, most Mindanawons (68 percent) and those in Class E (52 percent) approved his work in the past quarter.

Majority approval figures are also enjoyed by the Senate at 69 percent, the House of Representatives at 66 percent, and the Supreme Court 63 percent at the national level.

High trust scores are also obtained by the Senate at 61 percent, the House of Representatives at 58 percent, and the Supreme Court at 54 percent.

The Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Supreme Court all enjoy higher overall approval ratings in June 2018 compared to March 2018 at 63 to 69 percent and 53 to 60 percent, respectively.

Not for popularity President Duterte he is grateful for the latest survey results showing high public approval and trust ratings but does not lead the country for the sake of popularity, Malacañang said Friday.

Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said the President, although humbled by the public’s vote of confidence, was just keeping his promise to fight illegal, drugs and corruption in the country.

"The Palace expresses its gratitude for our people’s continuing vote of confidence for President Rodrigo Roa Duterte who remains the most approved and most trusted top national official today with 88% approval and 87% trust, respectively,” Roque said.

"The President views these latest survey results with all humility; however, he is not leading the country for the sake of high or good ratings. The Chief Executive is simply fulfilling his campaign promises with the best interest of Filipinos in mind,” he said.

Roque said Duterte would continue to work “double time to rid society of drugs, criminality and corruption to achieve his goal of bringing comfortable life for all.” (With a report from Genalyn Kabiling)