SWS reveals: Filipinos trust U.S. most, China least

FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and US President Donald Trump discuss matters during a bilateral meeting at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City on November 13, 2017. KARL NORMAN ALONZO/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

The United States (U.S.) is the most trusted country by many Filipinos among all four states included in the recent survey of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) that was released on Wednesday, March 20.

The Fourth Quarter 2018 Social Weather Survey revealed that the U.S. got a net trust rating of “very good” +60, compared to Japan’s “good” +34, Australia’s “good” +31, and China’s “neutral” -7 score.

The pollster noted that the U.S.’s latest trust rating hardly moved from its “very good” +59 in September 2018. Despite this, its score has been “positive” since December 1994, ranging from “moderate” +18 in May 2005 to as high as “excellent” +82 last December 2013.

“It has been at +60 and above in five out of six surveys since June 2017,” it added.

Aside from the U.S., Australia’s net trust rating also remained “good,” although it decreased by five points in June 2018 which is the “lowest” that SWS recorded over the past nine years since the “moderate” +19 in September 2009.

While the net trust ratings of the U.S. and Australia remained within the same grade, trust ratings of Japan and China, on the other hand, have improved by one grade.

“Net trust rating rose by one grade from moderate to good for Japan, at +34 (53% much trust, 19% little trust) in December 2018, up by six points from +28 in September 2018,” the SWS said.

“Net trust rose from poor to neutral for China, at -7 (31% much trust, 39% little trust, correctly rounded) in December 2018, up by 23 points from -16 in September 2018,” it added.

The pollster used the following terminologies for the net trust ratings: +70 and above, “excellent”; +50 to +69, “very good”; +30 to +49, “good”; +10 to +29, “moderate”; +9 to -9, “neutral”; -10 to -29, “poor”; -30 to -49, “bad”; -50 to -69, “very bad”; and -70 and below, “execrable.”

The latest survey was done from December 16 to 19 last year, using face-to-face interviews of 1,440 survey respondents whose age ranges from 18 years old and above nationwide. It has sampling error margins of plus or minus 2.6 percent for national percentages, and plus or minus five percent for Balance Luzon, Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.