MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos' trust in China declined while the United States saw a higher trust rating in the second quarter of 2019, according to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.
The poll conducted from June 22 to 26 found that 51% of adult Filipinos have little trust in China, 21% undecided and 27% with much trust.
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This garners a net trust rating of a "poor" -24, which is 18 points down from China's -6 in March. The poll firm said this is the lowest since China's net trust rating of -35 in June 2018.
Along with the lower trust rating 43% of the respondents disagreed with the statement, "Most of what the Chinese government wants to happen in the Philippines is good for the Filipinos.
Meanwhile, 27% said they agree that China has good intentions for the Filipino people.
The US, on the other hand, enjoyed a 13-point surge in its net trust rating for the second quarter.
The survey showed that 81% of Filipinos have much trust, 11% undecided and 8% with little trust in Washington. This garners a net trust rating of an "excellent" +73.
On the statement that the US government has good intentions for Filipinos, 55% agreed, 28% were undecided and 17% disagreed.
Among those who distrust China, the net agreement that the Chinese government has good intentions for the Filipinos was also lower.
The poll found that net agreement on the statement was "very weak" -34 among those with little trust in China, "moderately weak" -10 among those undecided and "moderately strong" +13 among those who have much trust in Beijing.
China was the only country with a negative trust rating among countries tested for public trust.
All the other countrues had "good" net trust rating: Canada with +46, Australia with +46, Japan with +45, New Zealand with +38 and Malaysia with +34.
The survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews among 1,200 Filipino adults nationwide — 300 each in Metro Manila, balance Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
The poll has a margin error of ±3% for national percentages, and ±6% each for Metro Manila, Balance of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
"The Social Weather Survey items on public trust in selected countries, and on the intentions of foreign governments, are non-commissioned. These items were included on SWS's own initiative and released as a public service," SWS said.