From ‘neutral,’ Filipinos now have ‘poor’ trust in China — SWS

FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and President Xi Jinping of People’s Republic of China pose for a photo after the successful expanded bilateral meeting at the Malacañan Palace on November 20, 2018. ALFRED FRIAS/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

The latest survey of Social Weather Stations (SWS) revealed that Filipinos’ trust in China has dropped in the second quarter of 2019.

Among its 1,200 respondents, 51 percent of them said they have “little trust” in China, while 27 percent have “much trust.” Twenty-one percent, on the other hand, were “undecided.”

This resulted in net trust of -24, considered by the SWS as “poor.”

“This is down by 18 points from the neutral -6 in March 2019, and the lowest since the bad -35 in June 2018,” it said.

The survey also found that 43 percent of the respondents “disagree” with the statement that “most of what the Chinese government wants to happen in the Philippines is good for the Filipinos.” Of the 43 percent Filipino adults who disagreed, 25 percent said they “strongly disagree,” while 18 percent “somewhat disagree.”

Only 27 percent “agree” with the statement with the eight percent saying they “strongly agree” and 19 percent saying they “somewhat agree.” Thirty percent, meanwhile, are “undecided” about the matter.

This yielded a net agreement score of -16, classified by the SWS as “moderately weak,” and is similar to the net -17 recorded in December 2018.

Among those who “distrust” China, the net agreement that “the Chinese government has good intentions for the Filipino people” was also lower, according to the pollster.

It said that the net agreement on the statement was a “very weak” -34, compared to the “moderately weak” -10 among those who were “undecided” about their trust in the Asian giant, and the “moderately strong” +13 among those with who have “much trust.”

But while the Filipinos’ trust in China has dropped, their trust in the United States (US) has surged, with 81 percent of the respondents said they have “much trust” and only eight percent have “little trust.” Eleven percent, meanwhile, were “undecided.”

This resulted in a net trust rating of “excellent” +73, a 13-point increase from the “very good” +60 in March 2019. The SWS said it is also the highest since the “excellent” +74 recorded on September 2015.

Fifty-five percent of Filipino adults also “agree” with the statement that “most of what the American government wants to happen in the Philippines is good for the Filipinos.” Only 17 percent “disagree,” while 28 percent are “undecided.”

Among those with “much trust” in the US, the net agreement that “the American government has good intentions for the Filipino people” was also a “very strong” +45.

Aside from the US, all the other five countries tested for public trust also obtained “good” net trust rating. Both Canada and Australia got a net trust score of +46, Japan at +45, New Zealand at +38, and Malaysia at +34.

The survey was conducted from June 22 to 26, a few weeks after the alleged sinking of a Filipino boat by a Chinese vessel on June 9 in Recto Bank in the West Philippine Sea, where 22 Filipino fishermen were left afloat at sea.

It used face-to-face interviews with its respondents and has sampling error margins of plus or minus three percent for national percentages and plus or minus six percent each for Metro Manila, Balance of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.