ABOUT 44% of voters expect the impeachment trial to result in Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio’s conviction against 31% who expect her acquittal, a nationwide survey found.
In its third-quarter Pahayag survey, PUBLiCUS Asia said about one in four (25%) of voters are still undecided or unable to say, while 11% believe the impeachment proceedings could end without a verdict.
When asked how they would vote as senator-judges, four in 10 said they would vote to convict Ms. Duterte on all charges, compared to three in 10 who would acquit the Vice-President. Another three in 10 either said they would abstain or remain undecided.
The report, conducted from Oct. 1-4, surveyed 1,581 registered Filipino voters. It was held ahead of the House prosecution panel’s move to withdraw all articles of impeachment, except allegations on Ms. Duterte’s unexplained wealth.
Public interest in the proceedings remained high at 65% during the quarter, with half of respondents citing online news reports and television broadcasts as their leading source of information. About 45% cited livestreams and live trial coverage.
More than two in five voters (44-46%) consider the evidence presented by the prosecution as sufficient, an opinion prevalent among respondents in Metro Manila and in South Luzon.
In comparison, more than one in three voters (38%-40%), particularly those in Mindanao, said additional evidence is necessary.
Despite this, the report noted there are more voters are convinced by the evidence at 45-47%, than those who were unconvinced (37-38%).
The survey also revealed more than one in two voters were satisfied with Senator Francis G. Escudero’s performance as presiding officer. Individually, Senator-judges Paolo Benigno A. Aquino IV (33%), Ana Theresia Hontiveros-Baraquel (33%) and Francis Pancratius N. Pangilinan (28%) were cited as among those who performed well.
Collectively, however, 46% said the senator-judges performed poorly or very poorly against 38% who were satisfied.
More than half of voters (52%) also agreed in the impeachment court’s move to calculate the voting threshold based on senators legally and factually able to participate, though respondents are divided on the number of senator-judges required to convict. About 35% said 16 votes are necessary, while 34% said 12-14 votes may be enough. — CAT