PBBM's trust, approval ratings bump up in December – Pulse Asia

THE TRUST and approval ratings of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. saw an increase in December, according to a Pulse Asia survey released Monday.

The December 3-7, 2023 poll showed that 68 percent of Filipinos approved of Marcos' performance, a 3-point rise from his 65 percent rating in September 2023.

The survey also showed that at least 73 percent trust Marcos, a 2-percentage point improvement from the last poll in September.

Vice President Sara Duterte’s approval score, meanwhile, increased from 74 percent to 73 percent, or by 1 percentage point at the national level.

Duterte's overall trust score went up by 3 points, from 75 percent in September to 78 percent in December.

"The President and the Vice President both have majority approval scores in every area (62 percent to 74 percent and 61 percent to 93 percent, respectively) and class (63 percent to 69 percent and 72 percent to 79 percent, respectively)," Pulse Asia said.

For the President, only 9 percent disapproved of his performance, while 22 percent were undecided.

The Vice President had an 8 percent disapproval rating, while 18 percent were uncertain.

Pulse Asia noted that majority trust ratings are enjoyed by the President and the Vice President in the different areas and classes.

"Most Filipino adults express trust in the President, the Vice President, and the Senate President; public opinion regarding the trustworthiness of the top national government officials hardly changed between September 2023 and December 2023, both at the national level and across subgroupings," the pollster said.

The survey reported that the current administration enjoys majority approval ratings for its handling of national issues, such as protecting the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (78 percent), helping calamity-hit areas (76 percent), protecting the environment (62 percent), promoting peace and defending national territorial integrity (61 percent), fighting criminality (56 percent), and enforcing the rule of law (51 percent).

According to the pollster, the only urgent national concern cited across all geographic areas and socio-economic groupings that needs to be addressed is controlling inflation, which was identified by 72 percent of Filipino adults.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri garnered a 49 percent approval rating, which is a 1-point drop from his September rating of 50 percent.

Speaker Martin Romualdez suffered a 2-point decline in his approval rating, from 41 percent in September to 39 percent in December.

Zubiri’s trust rating increased to 51 percent in December from 49 percent in September.

Romualdez obtained 40 percent trust of the Filipinos, which is 2 percentage points lower than in September.

"The performance ratings of these government officials are essentially constant during the period September 2023 to December 2023. This observation holds true at the national level as well as in all areas and classes," Pulse Asia said.

The survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews on a sample of 1,200 representative adults 18 years old and above. It has a ± 2.8 percent error margin at the 95 percent confidence level. (Filane Mikee Cervantes)