Cristina Chi - Philstar.com
October 15, 2026 | 2:10pm
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte continues to enjoy majority trust and approval ratings, according to two different surveys released this week, even as the Senate impeachment trial is now in full swing.
So far, the surveys show that public trust in and approval of Duterte have defied expectations of a reputation-bruising trial, where allegations of Duterte's unexplained wealth and wanton use of confidential fund have been heard.
Separate surveys released by Pulse Asia and Social Weather Stations (SWS) this week put Duterte's trust rating at 55% and 56%, respectively. In the Pulse Asia poll, 54% of Filipino adults also approved of her performance over the past quarter.
Pulse Asia's Ulat ng Bayan survey, conducted from September 17 to 24 through face-to-face interviews with 2,400 adults, found that 27% distrust the vice president while 19% were undecided.
On her performance, 27% disapproved and 18% could not say either way. The survey has a margin of error of ±2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
Duterte's ratings are virtually unchanged from Pulse Asia's July survey, when 58% said they trusted her and 56% approved of her work.
The only significant shift was among Class D respondents, where trust in her slipped five points to 53%.
On the other hand, the SWS survey, commissioned by Stratbase Institute, showed similarly steady numbers: 56% of Filipinos have "much trust" in Duterte, 26% have "little trust," and 17% are undecided, nearly identical to the 57%-27% split SWS recorded in June.
SWS conducted its survey from September 21 to 27.
Duterte's "much trust" rating in the SWS survey has stayed between 53% and 61% in every edition since March 2025, though it remains below the high 65% she posted in July 2024.
Mindanao bailiwick, split Luzon
Both surveys show Duterte's support remains anchored in Mindanao, her home region. Pulse Asia found 94% of Mindanawons trust her and 91% approve of her performance, with distrust at just 1%.
SWS recorded 87% "much trust" and only 4% "little trust" in the region.
Duterte also similarly holds majorities in the Visayas, with 57% trust in Pulse Asia's survey and 60% in SWS's, the latter up from 54% in June.
Luzon is more divided in perceptions of the vice president.
In Metro Manila, Pulse Asia found trust and distrust in Duterte nearly even at 43% and 41%, and her approval and disapproval tied at 42%.
In the rest of Luzon, trust stood at 37% against 38% distrust.
SWS shows Duterte has a wider edge in both areas: 46% much trust versus 33% little trust in Metro Manila, and 41% versus 35% in Balance Luzon.
Marcos underwater
The numbers stand in sharp contrast with those of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who remains well below the trust and approval ratings of Duterte.
In Pulse Asia's survey, nearly half of Filipinos disapproved of the president's performance (49%) and distrusted him (48%). Only 30% approved of his work, and 29% said they trust him.
Marcos failed to get majority approval in any geographic area or socioeconomic class, with disapproval reaching 71% in Mindanao and 66% in Class E, where it rose 14 points from July.
There were bright spots for the president in Class ABC, where his approval jumped 17 points to 37% and distrust fell 16 points. Distrust in him also eased in Mindanao, dropping 11 points to 66%.
SWS found a similar pattern, where Marcos' "much trust" rating was at 36% against 40% "little trust."
This is a slight improvement from June's 34%-45%. But it is also the fourth straight SWS survey since November 2025 in which more Filipinos expressed little trust than much trust in Marcos.
His rating has fallen from 64% in July 2024. In Mindanao, his "much trust" figure doubled from 17% in June to 35%.
Duterte's SWS trust rating has outpaced Marcos' in every survey since February 2025.
Trial backdrop
Pulse Asia's fieldwork overlapped with key developments in the impeachment trial. Throughout September, the prosecution focused on the confidential funds and unexplained wealth charge.
Earlier in the month, on September 5, Duterte was issued an arrest warrant for three counts of grave threats, charges that are also part of the impeachment case.
Duterte herself has not shown up to the impeachment trial and has not been called to take the witness stand.
The prosecution has also recently dropped its plan to call the vice president as a witness, with private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan telling reporters: "From what we heard from the defense, what she is going to say is that she knows nothing – that's all she is going to say in the witness stand."