Duterte regains ‘excellent’ trust rating – SWS

MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte regained his “excellent” trust rating, recovering from a decline in September, according to a Social Weather Stations’ survey conducted in December 2017.

Duterte’s net trust rating shot up to +75, categorized as “excellent,” in the survey conducted from December 8 to 16, 2017. This was based on the survey’s findings that 83% of adult Filipinos have much trust in Duterte, 7% have little trust, while 10% were undecided. 

The new rating shows Duterte has recovered from the September decline in trust rating which saw a slide by one grade, from “excellent” in June to “very good” in September. His December trust rating puts him back to the June level of +75.

He is yet to surpass his personal high of +79, recorded in June 2016, right before his inauguration as president.

His 15-point recovery is due to double-digit increases in trust ratings in all geographic regions.

In Mindanao, his already “excellent” rating in September improved by 12 points in December, from +82 to +94.  

In the Visayas, his trust rating improved by one grade, from “very good” to “excellent.” This was because of a 19-point increase from September to December – +57 to +76.

A similar improvement was seen in Metro Manila. A 19-point increase also shot the President’s trust rating from “very good” to “excellent” or from +54 to +73.

In the Balance of Luzon, Duterte failed to score “excellent” but saw a rise in trust within the “very good” category. His rating rose by 14 points, from +52 to +66.

Gaining the poor’s trust

Based on the survey results, trust for Duterte showed the most striking improvement among the poorest Filipinos. In December, trust among the poorest class E rose by 36 points to +80, an improvement of two grades, or from  “good” to “excellent.”

His class E trust rating also surpassed his June trust rating among the poorest. In June, his net trust rating was +68, before it declined to +44 in September.

A similar but more modest pattern could be seen in class D, with Duterte’s rating up by 11 points – from +63 in September to +74 in December. 

Among the well-off Filipinos, classes ABC, trust for Duterte remained “excellent,” with an increase by 7 points, showing steadily rising levels of trust since June.

In terms of geographical locations, Duterte saw an improvement by one grade. Both in urban and rural areas, his ratings went from “very good” to “excellent.” This was due to an 18-point rise in urban areas and a 13-point rise in rural areas.

Between September and December 2017, satisfaction in Duterte’s performance improved among people who said they had little trust in him. SWS said the satisfaction rating of the President among people in this group rose by 13 points from -38 to -25, improving his grade from “very poor” to “bad.” 

However, those who were undecided on whether to trust Duterte were less satisfied with his performance in December compared to September 2017, as his satisfaction rating in this group went one grade lower from “moderate” (+14) to “neutral” (+7), a 7-point decline.

The December survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults nationwide. The sampling error margins are ±3% for national percentages, and ±6% each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. – Rappler.com