PULSE ASIA

July 2016 Nationwide Survey on the Trust Ratings

of the Top 3 Philippine Government Officials and
Filipinos’ Expectations of the New Administration
Nearly all Filipinos (91%) express trust in President Rodrigo R. Duterte; Vice-President
Maria Leonor G. Robredo is also trusted by most Filipinos (62%) while Supreme Court Chief
Justice Maria Lourdes A. Sereno registers a big plurality indecision figure (42%)
President Rodrigo R. Duterte begins his stint as the country’s 16 th president with an overwhelming
majority of his constituents expressing trust in him (91%) and practically no one distrusting him (0.2%).
The rest of Filipinos (8%) cannot say if they trust or distrust President Duterte. The latter records
majority trust ratings in every geographic area (89% to 97%) and socio-economic grouping (89% to
92%).

A sizeable majority of Filipinos (62%) trust Vice-President Maria Leonor G. Robredo while a little over one
(1) in 10 Filipinos distrust her outright (11%). More than a quarter of Filipinos (27%) are ambivalent on
the matter of trusting or distrusting the Vice-President. Most Filipinos – regardless of geographic location
and socio-economic status – say they trust Vice-President Robredo (58% to 72% and 53% to 64%,
respectively).
In the case of Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes A. Sereno, the plurality sentiment toward her
trustworthiness is one of indecision (42%). Trust in the latter is more manifest than distrust (35% versus
19%). Big plurality indecision figures are posted by the Supreme Court Chief Justice in the Visayas (43%)
and Class E (46%). On the other hand, the latter receives practically the same trust and indecision
ratings in Metro Manila (40% versus 37%), the rest of Luzon (36% versus 46%), Mindanao (38% versus
36%), Class ABC (37% versus 50%), and Class D (38% versus 39%).

Economic concerns top Filipinos’ list of issues which should be addressed immediately by the
Duterte administration – inflation (68%), employment (56%), and pro-poor programs
(55%)
For most Filipinos, the new administration must prioritize three (3) economic issues – controlling
increases in prices (68%), creating employment opportunities (56%), and crafting new pro-poor
programs (55%) – in its first six (6) months in office. A near majority of Filipinos (48%) would like the
Duterte administration to immediately address the problem of criminality in the country. A third cluster of
issues cited by Filipinos includes the granting of loans to small entrepreneurs and the self-employed
(23%), the preparation of a program addressing the government’s debt problem (17%), and the
continued pursuit of peace negotiations with different armed groups (17%). Less than one (1) in 10
Filipinos says the current dispensation should give priority to efforts to forge a government of national
unity (9%) and to amend the 1987 Philippine Constitution (7%).

(Please refer to Table 3.)

The primary first-mentioned issue to be prioritized by the Duterte administration is controlling inflation
(30%). In terms of second-mentioned issues, the top responses are controlling inflation (23%) and
creating new pro-poor programs (20%). As far as third-mentioned issues are concerned, the leading ones
are creating new pro-poor programs (20%), generating employment (17%), reducing criminality (17%),
and controlling inflation (16%).
Majorities in Metro Manila (54% to 60%), the Visayas (56% to 70%), Class ABC (55% to 61%), and
Class D (57% to 69%) are of the view that the new administration should immediately take steps to
control inflation, generate employment, and create new pro-poor programs. Most Metro Manilans (54%)
would also like the Duterte administration to prioritize the issue of criminality. In the rest of Luzon,
sizeable to big majorities (61% to 70%) say the national administration must give priority to controlling
inflation and generating employment. Among Mindanaoans, the majority responses are controlling
inflation (70%), creating new pro-poor programs (59%), and reducing criminality (51%). And in Class E,
the only issue cited by a majority is inflation (70%). (Please refer to Table 4.)

With regard to first-mentioned issues, the primary response in Classes D and E is inflation (31% and
29%, respectively). In Class ABC, the leading answers are inflation (25%), employment (24%),
criminality (22%), and pro-poor programs (14%). Among Metro Manilans, the most often cited first-
mentioned responses are criminality (23%), inflation (22%), employment (20%), and pro-poor programs
(19%). Those in the rest of Luzon and the Visayas are most inclined to cite inflation (33% and 31%,
respectively) and employment (both at 24%) as the first-mentioned issues to be addressed immediately
by the present administration. And in Mindanao, the top first-mentioned issues are inflation (28%) and
criminality (20%). (Please refer to Table 5.)