Marcos Jr. approval, trust ratings plunge; Sara’s numbers rise

MANILA, Philippines — Almost halfway into his term, President Marcos now enjoys little trust among Filipinos, a majority of whom claim they disapprove of his performance, a recent survey conducted by Pulse Asia showed.

The survey, conducted weeks after the Marcos administration surrendered former president Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court, showed the President’s ratings plummeting by double digits.

From 42 percent in February, approval with the performance of Marcos went down by 17 points to just 25 percent.

Meanwhile, those who disapproved of his performance increased by 21 points, from 32 percent to 53 percent. The remaining 22 percent were undecided, down from 25 percent.

In terms of trust, Marcos also obtained a rating of 25 percent, down from 43 percent in February.

Fifty-four percent distrust him, up from 32 percent, while 21 percent were undecided, down from 25 percent.

It was a different case for Vice President Sara Duterte, who saw her approval and trust ratings recover in the latest polls.

From 52 percent in February, approval for the Vice President increased by seven points to 59 percent. Those who disapproved of her performance decreased, from 26 percent to 16 percent, while those who were undecided increased from 22 percent to 25 percent.

Duterte’s trust ratings also improved, from 53 percent in February to 61 percent in the latest poll.

Only 16 percent said they distrust her, down from 26 percent, while 23 percent were undecided, from 21 percent.

Like Marcos, approval and trust in Senate President Francis Escudero and Speaker Martin Romualdez also declined in the latest poll.

Escudero obtained an approval rating of 39 percent and a trust rating of 38 percent, both down from 47 percent in the previous survey.

Romualdez, meanwhile, obtained an approval and trust rating of 14 percent, down from 17 percent and 18 percent, respectively.

The survey, conducted from March 23 to 29, had 2,400 respondents and a margin of error of plus/minus two percent.