Duterte ratings rise: 82% approval, 81% trust

President Duterte and Vice President Leni Robredo maintained majority approval and trust ratings in the second quarter of the year, according to the latest Pulse Asia survey.

Duterte’s approval score rose to 82 percent in June from 78 percent in March. His trust rating, on the other hand, went up to 81 percent from 76 percent.

Malacañang welcomed the “pleasant news” of Duterte’s glowing trust and approval ratings.

“At the end of the day, he will not claim it for himself. He will give due credit to his Cabinet and to the participation of all agencies,” presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said in a press conference yesterday.

“As he very well knows it’s not just him, although he stands… he’s out front. But he will credit it also to the participation of the rest of the Cabinet and the different agencies,” he added.

The nationwide survey was conducted from June 24 to 29, using face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adults 18 years old and above.

The President’s approval and trust scores remained high despite criticisms of his declaration of martial law in Mindanao last May 23, following the attack of the Islamic State-linked Maute terrorists in Marawi City.

Robredo also saw her approval and trust ratings increase by three points and four points to 61 percent and 60 percent, respectively.

Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III’s approval and trust scores both increased by seven points to 62 percent and 58 percent, respectively.

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez’s approval and trust scores rose to 43 percent and 41 percent from 40 percent and 37 percent, respectively.

Nearly half or 48 percent of Filipinos approved of the performance of Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno while 43 percent expressed trust in her.

Sereno’s latest scores were higher than her March approval and trust scores of 42 percent and 40 percent, respectively.

According to Pulse Asia, only Pimentel registered “notable changes” in his performance ratings between March and June 2017.

Duterte and Pimentel obtained majority trust ratings in all geographic areas and socio-economic groupings, the pollster said.

Robredo’s high trust ratings came from most geographic areas and socio-economic groupings, with the exception of those in Metro Manila at 44 percent and in Class ABC at 43 percent.

‘Grateful and humbled’

In a statement, Robredo said she is “grateful and humbled” by the continued trust given to her by Filipinos.

“This further strengthens our resolve to keep working hard to reach out to our fellow Filipinos – to listen to their concerns, to uphold their interests and to engage them as partners for building a better, fairer society for all, especially the last, the least and the lost,” she said.

Robredo viewed her higher ratings as an affirmation of the work her office has been doing over the past year.

Through the Angat Buhay program, the Office of the Vice President has pushed forward the vision of uniting various groups and sectors to uplift the lives of ordinary Filipinos, she said.

The privately funded Angat Buhay program has provided assistance to more than 36,000 indigents during Robredo’s first year in office, the OVP said.

As for Alvarez, most of respondents from Mindanao expressed trust in him (57 percent) while most of those in Class ABC cannot say if they trust or distrust him (51 percent).

Meanwhile, half of Mindanao residents or 50 percent said they trust Sereno while almost the same percentages of those in the other geographic areas and socio-economic groupings either trust her or are ambivalent toward her trustworthiness.

Pulse Asia noted that the only significant movements in the government officials’ trust ratings between March and June 2017 were the following: increase in the trust ratings of Pimentel at the national level (+7 points) and among Visayans (+12 points); rise in the level of trust in Alvarez among Visayans (+12 points); and decline in the indecision figure for Robredo in Class D (-8 points).

Pulse Asia said the top government institutions also registered majority approval and trust ratings in June.

The Senate received approval rating of 59 percent (from 55 percent) and trust rating of 57 percent (from 54 percent).

The House of Representatives obtained 55 percent approval rating from 50 percent. Trust in the House also improved to 52 percent from 49 percent.

The SC, on the other hand, got a 58 percent approval rating and 56 percent trust rating in June, up from 57 percent and 54 percent, respectively, in March.

“The overall trust ratings of these entities are essentially unchanged between March and June 2016,” Pulse Asia said.

The non-commissioned survey has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.