President Rodrigo Duterte started his six-year term with a record 91% trust rating, the highest score given to a public official since Pulse Asia started its operations in 1999.
Duterte’s rating is higher than the 85% trust rating of former president Benigno Aquino’s when he started his term in July 2010.
The Pulse Asia survey released yesterday showed that 91% of the 1,200 Filipinos polled from July 2 to 8 trust Duterte while 8% are undecided.
“President Rodrigo Duterte begins his stint as the country’s 16th president with an overwhelming majority of his constituents expressing trust in him (91%) and practically no one distrusting him (0.2%). The rest of Filipinos (8%) cannot say if they trust or distrust President Duterte,” Pulse Asia said in a statement.
Among geographical areas, the president got the highest trust rating in Mindanao at 97%, followed by the National Capital Region at 92%. He got an 89% trust rating in Luzon and Visayas.
Across socioeconomic classes, trust for Duterte is highest among Classes D and E at 92%, followed by Class ABC at 89%.
A similar survey conducted by Social Weather Stations showed Duterte getting an “excellent” net trust rating of +79.
Informed of the survey results, Malacanang Palace thanked the Filipino people for their “overwhelming support” for the president.
Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said Duterte’s record-high trust rating of 91% is “a humbling reminder that the genuine and meaningful change that our people aspire for is now being felt.”
Dennis Mendoza, 36, puts on finishing touches on toy figurines of President Rodrigo Duterte made of fibre resin, which he sells for 800 to 5,000 pesos ($17-106) inside his workshop in Pasay city, Metro Manila.
