MANILA – Malacañang inferred that Filipinos might prefer Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio out of the country, as reflected in her latest Pulse Asia trust and approval rating.
Presidential Communications Office’s (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro made the statement as the survey was conducted while Duterte-Carpio was in The Hague in Netherlands.
“Siguro, puwede natin masabi diyan na, habang siya ay nasa ibang bansa, ay approved siya ng mga Pilipino. Dahil habang siya ay nasa ibang bansa ‘yan po ang rating niya,” Castro said in an interview with NewsWatch Plus.
“Mas gusto ng mga Pilipino na ang mga kagaya ni VP Sara…hindi ko po alam ah kasi ayaw ko namang kwestuyinin o i-judge kung ano man ‘yung naging survey. Pero lumalabas diyan na parang mas gusto ng tao na siya ay wala,” she added.
Based on a recent survey by Pulse Asia Research released last week, Duterte-Carpio was the only top government official in the country whose performance ratings got better.
The Vice President’s approval rating increased from 52% in February to 59% in March; and her disapproval rating dipped from 26% to 16% in the same period. Her trust score also climbed by 8 percentage points from 53% in February to 61% in March.
Meanwhile, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s approval rating fell by 17 percentage points from 42% in February to 25% in March, and his disapproval rating soared by 21 points to 53%.
Majority of Filipinos or 54% also expressed distrust toward the President, up from the previous 32%. His trust rating likewise dropped significantly from 42% in February to 25% in March.
Aside from the two top officials, the trust and performance ratings of Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero and Speaker Martin Romualdez also decreased over the same period.
According to Pulse Asia, the survey was conducted from March 23 to 29, 2025, and involved 2,400 adult Filipinos selected through multi-stage probability sampling.
During the period of survey, Duterte-Carpio was in The Hague assisting her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, who was detained at the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity. She returned to the country on April 6./PN
