MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio has widened her lead over President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in public approval and trust ratings, with more than half of Filipino adults continuing to support her while nearly half disapprove of the President’s performance, the latest Pulse Asia survey showed.
The nationwide poll, conducted from September 17 to 24 and released Thursday, showed Duterte-Carpio securing a 54% approval rating against Marcos’ 30%, a substantial 24-percentage-point advantage.
The Vice President also enjoyed a commanding lead in public trust, registering 55% compared with the President’s 29%, while 48% of respondents expressed distrust in Marcos.
The results underscored the contrasting public standing of the country’s two highest-ranking officials, with Duterte-Carpio retaining majority support despite a slight decline in her ratings and Marcos struggling to reverse widespread dissatisfaction with his administration.
Marcos recorded a 49% disapproval rating, significantly higher than his 30% approval score, while 21% of respondents remained undecided.
His approval rating slipped by one percentage point from 31% in July, although his disapproval rating also eased slightly from 50%. The proportion of undecided respondents remained unchanged.
MINDANAO, VISAYAS REJECT MARCOS
The President faced his strongest public disapproval in Mindanao and the Visayas, where negative assessments substantially outweighed positive ratings.
In Mindanao, only 10% of respondents approved of Marcos’ performance, while an overwhelming 71% expressed disapproval.
The situation was similarly unfavorable in the Visayas, where the President registered a 24% approval rating against 57% disapproval.
Marcos fared relatively better in Metro Manila, where 31% approved of his performance and 45% disapproved.
His strongest regional showing was in the rest of Luzon, where approval reached 42%, although 36% still expressed dissatisfaction.
The survey also revealed considerable discontent among the country’s poorest households.
Among socioeconomic Class E respondents, only 19% approved of Marcos’ performance, while 66% disapproved — the highest dissatisfaction rating across income classifications.
The President obtained a 30% approval rating among Class D respondents and 37% among Class ABC.
Disapproval stood at 48% in Class D and 39% in Class ABC.
SARA DOMINATES MINDANAO
In sharp contrast, Duterte-Carpio maintained overwhelming support in Mindanao, where 91% of respondents approved of her performance and only 3% expressed disapproval.
Her strong standing in the region helped sustain her majority approval nationwide despite a two-percentage-point decline from 56% in July to 54% in September.
The Vice President also registered a 58% approval rating in the Visayas, more than double Marcos’ 24% in the same region.
In Metro Manila, Duterte-Carpio secured 42% approval, compared with the President’s 31%.
Marcos, however, performed better in the rest of Luzon, where his 42% approval rating exceeded Duterte-Carpio’s 37%.
The Vice President’s disapproval rating nationwide declined from 29% in July to 27% in September, while 18% of respondents remained undecided.
Her regional disapproval ratings stood at 20% in the Visayas, 27% in Metro Manila and 28% in the rest of Luzon.
POOREST FILIPINOS FAVOR SARA
The survey further highlighted a striking difference in how the two officials were assessed by respondents belonging to the lowest socioeconomic classification.
Among Class E respondents, Duterte-Carpio registered a 68% approval rating, compared with only 19% for Marcos — a 49-percentage-point gap.
The Vice President also maintained majority approval among Class D respondents at 53%, while half of Class ABC respondents, or 50%, gave her a favorable performance assessment.
These findings indicated that Duterte-Carpio continued to command substantial support across socioeconomic groups, particularly among the poorest Filipinos, where dissatisfaction with Marcos was most pronounced.
Despite the considerable differences between the two officials’ ratings, Pulse Asia said their overall national performance and trust ratings remained virtually unchanged between its July and September surveys.
The findings suggested that neither Marcos nor Duterte-Carpio had experienced a substantial shift in nationwide public sentiment during the two-month period, leaving the Vice President with a clear advantage in both approval and trust ratings./PN
