VP Duterte, Escudero lose ground as Marcos, Romualdez gain trust — survey
MANILA, Philippines — A recent non-commissioned survey found that trust and performance ratings of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and House Speaker Martin Romualdez rose in July, while those of Vice President Sara Duterte and Senate President Chiz Escudero declined.
OCTA Research Group data released on Wednesday, July 30, showed contrasting fortunes for the country's top two officials. Marcos' trust rating increased to 64% in July from 60% in April, while Vice President Duterte's dropped to 50% from 54%. Both, however, maintain majority support.
Marcos' improved rating signals an end to his steady decline over the past year from a high of 71% in July 2024 to a low of 60% in April 2025. Duterte, despite suffering steeper losses overall, had shown signs of recovery with a nine-point jump between November 2024 and April 2025. Her trust rating fell from 65% last year to 49% by November 2024.
This follows her impeachment in February on charges of graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust, and culpable violation of the Constitution. However, OCTA's latest poll shows her trust ratings are starting to decline again.
Regional patterns emerged as expected, where Marcos drew the weakest support in Mindanao but the strongest in Luzon, while Duterte maintained her highest ratings in her Mindanao political base.
How many Filipinos are satisifed?
Regarding performance ratings, 62% of Filipinos expressed satisfaction with Marcos as president, up three percentage points from 59% in April. OCTA described this as a "genuine and positive shift in public perception," especially at a granular level.
"Dissatisfaction with President Marcos Jr.'s performance declined slightly across all major regions and socioeconomic classes, indicating a modest improvement in public perception," the report read.
Duterte experienced the opposite trend, with her performance rating falling six percentage points from 56% to 50%. The drop followed her brief recovery in April from November 2024's low of 48%.
"Vice President Duterte-Carpio's performance ratings declined across all major areas and socioeconomic classes," OCTA said, noting that Mindanao residents expressed the highest satisfaction levels.
Trust in Congress' top leaders
In the legislative branch, Romualdez maintained higher public trust at 57% compared to Escudero's 51%, with both leaders still keeping majority support. Romualdez gained three percentage points while Escudero dropped four points from the previous survey.
The decline in Escudero's trust ratings coincided with escalating criticism from civil society groups and legal experts over the delay in the vice president's impeachment trial.
He was accused of deliberately prolonging the process while permitting procedural challenges that led to the articles of impeachment being returned to the lower chamber.
In terms of performance, nearly half of Filipinos (49%) expressed satisfaction with Escudero's work as Senate President, while about one in four expressed disappointment. Romualdez fared significantly better at 59%, with only one in five Filipinos dissatisfied and 14% undecided.
Regionally, OCTA found that Escudero saw the lowest satisfaction level at 39% in Metro Manila, with a 13-percentage drop from the last survey.
The survey was conducted from July 12 to July 17, a period before the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Duterte's petition to nullify her impeachment. It was also during this time that the House asserted the constitutionality of the impeachment, which 215 members of the 19th Congress endorsed.
OCTA polled 1,200 adult Filipinos across the country, with a ±3% margin of error.
Social Weather Stations (SWS), another major pollster, also found that trust in Marcos improved. Duterte’s trust rating, meanwhile, rose by a marginal 1% in June. A report for July's trust rating has yet to be released by SWS.
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