Sara Duterte still most trusted, appreciated PH official but gap with Marcos narrowing

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte is still the most trusted and most appreciated top official in the country but her ratings gap with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has steadily narrowed over the past year, the latest Pulse Asia Research, Incorporated survey showed.

Based on the results of Pulse Asia’s February 27 to March 2 survey released on Monday, March 16, Duterte obtained small majority approval and trust ratings of 55% and 54%, respectively, while Marcos got an approval rating of 36% and trust rating of 35%.

Pulse Asia said that the latest ratings are not significantly different from the December 2025 survey figures: In the latest survey, Marcos gained 2 percentage points in his approval rating and 3 percentage points in his trust rating; Duterte lost 1 percentage point in her approval rating, while her trust rating is unchanged.

The pollster, however, noted “several marked movements between March 2025 and March 2026” in relation to the two leaders’ performance and trust ratings.

“The President’s overall approval rating goes up (+11 percentage points) while his disapproval score drops (-8 percentage points). As for the Vice-President, she experiences an increase in her disapproval figure (+11 percentage points) and a decrease in her indecision rating (-7 percentage points),” the pollster said.

“Similarly, trust in the President becomes more notable year-on-year (+10 percentage points) while distrust in him eases (-10 percentage points). The reverse occurs in the case of the Vice President, with distrust in her becoming more pronounced (+10 percentage points) while her trust rating drops (-7 percentage points),” Pulse Asia added.

The survey, conducted among 1,200 respondents, has a ± 2.8% error margin at the 95% confidence level. Subnational estimates for the geographic areas have the following error margins at 95% confidence level: ± 5.7% for Metro Manila, the rest of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

December 2025 vs March 2026 surveys

Comparing the December 2025 and March 2026 survey results, Pulse Asia cited the following notable findings:

• Disapproval toward Marcos’ performance becomes less manifest in Mindanao (-12 percentage points).
• Duterte’s approval rating goes up in Class E (+20 percentage points).
• Distrust in Duterte among those belonging to Class ABC soars by +22 percentage points.

Year-on-year survey findings

Comparing the survey results year-on-year or the March 2025 and March 2026 surveys, the pollster cited the following findings. (See Tables 5 and 6 above.)

Marcos:

• Appreciation for Marcos’ work becomes “more marked” in Metro Manila (+17 percentage points), the rest of Luzon (+19 percentage points), Class ABC (+17 percentage points), and Class D (+10 percentage points).
• Disapproval for Marcos’ work decreases in Metro Manila (-13 percentage points), the rest of Luzon (-12 percentage points), and Class ABC (-27 percentage points).
• Trust in Marcos goes up in the rest of Luzon (+20 percentage points) and Class D (+10 percentage points) but dips in the Visayas (-12 percentage points).
• Distrust in Marcos decreases in the rest of Luzon (-15 percentage points), Class ABC (-18 percentage points), and Class D (-10 percentage points).

Duterte:

• The Vice President’s approval rating among Class ABC plunges by -24 percentage points.
• Ambivalence toward Duterte’s performance eases in the rest of Luzon (-13 percentage points) and Class D (-8 percentage points).
• Disapproval for Duterte’s performance becomes more pronounced in the rest of Luzon (+23 percentage points), Class ABC (+29 percentage points), and Class D (+9 percentage points).
• Her trust ratings drop in the rest of Luzon (-11 percentage points) and Class ABC (-33 percentage points).
• Ambivalence toward her trustworthiness becomes more notable in Metro Manila (+12 percentage points), but eases in the rest of Luzon (-10 percentage points).
• Distrust in Duterte rises in the rest of Luzon (+21 percentage points), Class ABC (+34 percentage points), and Class D (+6 percentage points).

In the weeks leading to the survey period, among the major developments were the junking of the impeachment complaints against Marcos by the House committee on justice, and the same panel’s vote that the impeachment complaints against the Vice President were sufficient in substance.

During the period, Duterte announced her bid to run in the 2028 presidential race. It was also during this time when the International Criminal Court conducted the confirmation of charges hearings against her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, in the Hague, the Netherlands for his crimes against humanity case. – Rappler.com