MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte’s trust and approval ratings rose in December last year as he maintained his status as the government leader most trusted by Filipinos, according to the results of a December survey released on Friday, January 11.

The results of a Pulse Asia Research, Incorporated, survey conducted from December 14 to 21, 2018, found that 81% of Filipinos approve of Duterte’s performance as Chief Executive, an increase of 6 percentage points from 75% in September 2018.

This mirrors Filipinos’ trust for Duterte which stood at 76% in December, an improvement of 4 points from his September rating. 

Pulse Asia says it has 95% confidence in its results with the error margin for nationwide results at ±2.3% and the following error margins for regional results:±6.5% for Metro Manila, ±3.5% for the rest of Luzon, ±5.2% for Visayas, and±4.7% for Mindanao. 

Only 7% of Filipinos disapprove of Duterte’s performance while 6% have small or no trust in him. 

There was a rise in Duterte’s approval ratings in all regions, save for Metro Manila where it decreased by 3 percentage points to 69% from 72% in September.

For the rest of Luzon, his approval rating rose by 8 percentage points, the biggest increase among the regions. This was followed by a 6-point increase in Mindanao, Duterte’s home region.

Looking at socio-economic classes, there was a surge in approval for Duterte among the wealthy Filipinos. His approval rating rose by 15 percentage points among those in class ABC, to 87% from 72% in September.

Meanwhile, in terms of trust rating, Duterte enjoyed higher trust across all regions and economic classes.

The survey period covered many developments with significant impact on Duterte’s policies and advocacies. It was around this time when Congress approved his 3rd request for martial law extension in Mindanao. It was also then when 3 policemen were convicted for the murder of teenager Kian delos Santos and Malacañang assured the public that Duterte would not pardon them.

During the survey period, Duterte made controversial remarks about using state-backed death squads to kill communist rebels and using marijuana to stay awake during international conferences. – Rappler.com