41% of Filipinos back impeachment of VP Duterte: SWS survey

Vice President Sara Duterte (PNA photo by Joan Bondoc)

By Filane Mikee Cervantes, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – Forty-one percent of Filipinos support the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte, according to a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.

The SWS survey, conducted from Dec. 12 to 18, 2024 and commissioned by Stratbase Consultancy, also revealed that 35 percent opposed Duterte’s ouster, and 19 percent were undecided.

Various groups have filed three impeachment complaints against the Vice President at the House of Representatives following allegations related to her office’s confidential funds misuse.

The highest percentage of impeachment supporters was recorded in Balance Luzon at 50 percent.

In Mindanao, the Duterte family’s stronghold, opposition to impeachment was the highest, with 56 percent of respondents rejecting the complaints.

Only 22 percent of Mindanaoans supported the ouster move, and 18 percent remain undecided.

In the Visayas, 40 percent backed impeachment, 33 percent opposed it, and 24 percent were undecided.

Among socioeconomic classes, support for Duterte’s impeachment was strongest in Classes A, B, C at 50 percent, while the lowest support came from Class E at 37 percent.

The survey noted that the “unexplained spending” of confidential and intelligence funds by the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education during Duterte’s tenure as secretary was the most frequently cited reason for impeachment, with 46 percent of respondents identifying them as the key issue.

Thirty-six percent said Duterte’s refusal to answer the investigations on the use of confidential funds was also another reason.

Alleged threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. were cited by 24 percent.

The survey had 2,160 respondents nationwide and a margin error of ±2 percent.