Senate trust falters as House bounces back with majority — survey

MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos' trust in the House of Representatives now exceeds that of the Senate, with a new survey showing the lower chamber earning a majority of public trust, while confidence in the Senate lags below 50%.

According to OCTA Research Group's latest survey released on Tuesday, August 5, the House enjoys higher public trust with 57% of Filipinos expressing confidence in the lower chamber compared to 49% for the upper house.

The findings don't represent exclusive preferences as respondents could express trust in both congressional chambers. However, the survey shows a significant gap in public trust between the two institutions.

The poll firm also found an opposite trend for the chambers of Congress, as the House sees an improvement in trust and performance ratings, while the Senate experiences a drop compared to its ratings in November 2024. 

Both chambers have faced declining trust over the past year and a half. Senate approval fell consistently from 67% in December 2023 to 49% in July 2025, while House trust dropped from 61% to 49% during the same initial period.

The difference is that while Senate trust continued its downward slide, the House ended the trend by climbing eight percentage points from its November 2024 low to 57% in the latest survey.

No majority trust in the Senate

The survey specifically asked Filipinos about their trust levels in both chambers of Congress. For the Senate, 49% expressed trust while 10% voiced distrust, leaving 40% undecided about the upper chamber's trustworthiness.

Trust in the Senate remains largely limited, with only 5% expressing they "strongly trust" the body, while 44% stating they "somewhat trust" the chamber.

Senate trust remained relatively consistent across regions, ranging from 42% to 58%, with Balance Luzon showing the least confidence in the upper chamber.

The trust decline affected all regions, but Mindanao saw the most dramatic fall — or a 13-percentage-point decrease — according to OCTA's report.

The starkest difference emerges along class lines. While two-thirds of lower-class Filipinos trust the Senate, only one-third of middle- and upper-class Filipinos shared that confidence.

In terms of performance, the Senate faces comparable challenges, with only 47% of Filipinos expressing satisfaction compared to 11% who are dissatisfied and 42% who remain uncertain about the institution's effectiveness.

The Senate's performance rating has dropped by six percentage points from the 53% it recorded in November 2024.

OCTA Research president and political science professor Ranjit Rye said he was actually surprised by the survey results, noting that he considers the Senate under the 19th Congress to be "very productive."

"I am surprised by the result. There could be many reasons behind the decline. I do believe it's just an episode, and the Senate will recover," he told Philstar.com in a message.

While acknowledging that various factors contributed to the Senate's declining ratings, he said Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment could be the most significant driver.

"Significant negative media and social media towards the senate escalated by the end of June 2025 and this may have influenced perceptions," he added.

It can be recalled that the Senate took four months to act on the impeachment articles before forming an impeachment court, with further delays after returning the verified complaint to the House as senators awaited the convening of the 20th Congress.

After the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Duterte's petition to nullify her impeachment, some senators argued that their cautious approach to the complaint was justified.

RELATED: How the elections flipped Senate script on Sara Duterte's impeachment trial

Almost 3 in 5 trust House

Meanwhile, 57% of Filipinos said they trust the House of Representatives, with only 9% expressing distrust. While distrust levels mirror those of the Senate, fewer Filipinos remain undecided about the lower chamber — just one-third compared to 40% for the Senate.

House trust ratings exceeded the national average in Metro Manila, Visayas and Mindanao, all recording around 60%. Balance Luzon, which encompasses Luzon outside Metro Manila, showed lower trust at 50%.

All major regions posted increased trust in the House, with Balance Luzon showing the largest gain despite having the lowest overall rating.

Trust in the House also followed the same socioeconomic pattern as the Senate, with lower-class respondents showing the highest confidence at 63% compared to 46% among middle- and upper-class Filipinos.

The lower chamber's performance rating similarly jumped eight percentage points from 47% in November 2024 to 55% in July 2025, just like its trust rating. Only 9% expressed dissatisfaction with the House's performance, while 36% remained undecided.

Regional performance patterns, meanwhile, were parallel with trust findings.

OCTA surveyed 1,200 adult Filipinos from July 12 to 17. It had a ±3% margin of error with a 95% confidence level.  

An earlier survey by the major pollster also found trust and performance ratings of Senate President Chiz Escudero drop, while those of House Speaker Martin Romualdez rose.

RELATED: VP Duterte, Escudero lose ground as Marcos, Romualdez gain trust — survey