MANILA, Philippines- President Rodrigo Duterte is trusted by almost all Filipinos according to a nationwide survey by Pulse Asia Research, Incorporated carried out on 1,200 Filipino respondents from July 2 to 8. With a 91% trust rating, Duterte sets a record-high rating, beating former President Benigno Aquino III who previously scored 85%.
Pulse Asia president Ronald Holmes said in a statement: “President Rodrigo R. 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.”
The 71-year-old politician received the highest trust rating (97%) in Mindanao among geographical locations, and 92% trust rating among class D and the poorest Class D among socioeconomic classes.
Vice President Maria Leonor Robredo received a trust rating of 62%, a “sizeable majority”. On the other hand, 11% of Pinoys distrust her and 27% are undecided.
Robredo had the highest trust rating from respondents from Visayas (72%) and from Class D (64%).
A survey carried out by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) produced similar results with 84% of respondents saying they had “much trust”, 5% had “little trust” and 11% were undecided on Duterte.
Communications Secretary Martin Andanar believes that the “excellent” net public trust rating on Duterte is a positive sign.
“It’s a positive sign and very encouraging to know that the people trust the judgment, decisions and actions of the President. The mandate is clear, the government cannot stop what it has started,” Andanar said.
Duterte to Meet US Secretary of State in PH next week
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will discuss the “full range” of U.S. cooperation with President Rodrigo Duterte and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Perfecto Yasay next week, reports CNN Philippines.
Prior to Kerry’s visit, a U.S. congressional delegation met with Duterte on Tuesday at Malacañang to discuss West Philippine Sea ruling. According to Sen. Chris Murphy, Duterte reassured the U.S. that he would not surrender the Philippines’ claim to China.