Duterte trust rating drops in first quarter of 2018 — SWS

A latest survey from Social Weather Stations (SWS) revealed that President Rodrigo Duterte’s trust rating dropped in the first quarter of 2018. (TOTO LOZANO/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO)

A latest survey from Social Weather Stations (SWS) revealed that President Rodrigo Duterte’s trust rating dropped in the first quarter of 2018.

The First Quarter 2018 Social Weather Survey, conducted from March 23 to 27, found that 76 percent of Filipinos have much trust in the President, 10 percent have little trust in him, while 14 percent are undecided.

This, SWS said, indicates a net trust rating of +65, classified by SWS as “very good.”

“This is a 10-point decline and down by one grade from the excellent +75 in December 2017, and similar to the very good +60 in September 2017,” SWS wrote.

According to SWS, among the eight surveys conducted from June 2016, Duterte gained a net trust rating of “excellent” in six, while “very good” in two surveys.

“It was a moderate +16 when SWS first asked about it in December 2015 and stayed at moderate levels up to March 30-April 2, 2016,” it said.

Just before the May 9 elections, the SWS said the President’s net trust rating went to “good” +30 on April 18 to 20, 2016 and to a “moderate” +26 on May 1 to 3 in the same year. Duterte’s trust rating then rose to “excellent” +79 in June 2016, days before his inauguration as Philippine leader.

The SWS terminology for Net Trust Ratings are as follows: +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”; -70 and below, “execrable.”

The SWS stressed that it considers the movement from one classification to another as either an “upgrade” or “downgrade.”

The survey showed Duterte’s net trust ratings remained “excellent” in Visayas and Mindanao, while “very good” in Balance Luzon. However, it dipped by one grade from “excellent” to “very good” in Metro Manila.

Despite its drop by five points from +94 in December 2017 to +89 in March 2018, Duterte’s trust ratings remained “excellent” in Mindanao.

Likewise, the President maintained this high approval in Visayas, but down by six points from +76 in December 2017 to +70 in March 2018.

Meanwhile, in Balance Luzon, his trust rating remained “very good,” although down by three points from +56 in December 2017 to +53 in March 2018.

The SWS survey used face-to-face interviews of 1,200 Filipino adults (18 years old and above) nationwide, with sampling error margins of plus-minus 3 percent for national percentages, and plus-minus 6 percent each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.