Filipinos trust US over China and Russia—Pulse Asia survey

President Rodrigo Duterte speaks with China Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhuaon the sidelines of the New Year Vin d’Honneur at the Rizal Hall in Malacañan Palace on January 11, 2017. (TOTO LOZANO/Presidential Photo)

MANILA, Philippines—A December 2016 survey conducted by public opinion polling body Pulse Asia showed that Filipinos trust the United States of America (USA) more than China and Russia.

In the survey conducted in December 6 to 11 last year, China and Russia landed at the bottom when Filipinos were asked to rate how much they trust five foreign countries.

The foreign countries rated were U.S.A., Japan, Great Britain, China, and Russia.

USA, the country Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte wanted to separate from, earned a trust rating of 76 and a distrust rating of 23.

One of the participants in the survey refused to rate U.S.A’s trustworthiness. Pulse Asia said that all participants are aware of the U.S.

Meanwhile, China, the country’s new ally, is the least trusted country among the five. Only 38 percent of Filipinos trust China while 61 percent of them distrust the country.

Similar to the case of the US, one participant refused to rate China’s trustworthiness. Ninety-nine percent of the participants are aware of China.

Russia, the country Duterte is trying to align the Philippines with, came very close to China when it comes to its trust and distrust rating.

Fifty-eight percent of Filipinos distrust Russia while only 38 percent of them trust it. Unlike US and China, Russia is relatively unfamiliar to Filipinos. Only 95 percent of Filipinos are aware of Russia.

Four percent of the participants refused to say whether they trust Russia or not.

Meanwhile, Japan and Great Britain came second and third in the survey.

Filipinos gave Japan a trust rating of 70 and a distrust rating of 29. One percent of the participants refused to rate Japan. Filipino’s familiarity with Japan is also evident with its 99 percent awareness rating among the former.

Great Britain received a trust rating of 39 and a distrust rating of 55. Six percent of the participants refused to rate Britain.

Britain is the least popular country among the five. Only 93 percent of Filipinos are aware it.

International organizations like the United Nations (UN) and European Union (EU) were also rated in the survey.

Ninety-eight percent of Filipinos are aware of the UN, the organization Duterte publicly criticized for its comments on his ‘war on drugs.’ Despite that, Pulse Asia’s survey showed that Filipinos trust UN very well.

Seventy-four percent of the participants said that they trust UN while only 25 percent of them don’t. UN also enjoys high popularity among Filipinos with its 98 percent awareness rating. One percent refused to rate UN.

Meanwhile, EU is as popular as Great Britain is to Filipinos. Ninety-three percent of them are aware of the politico-economic union. Filipinos also trust EU more than they trust China and Russia.

Half of the participants in the survey said that they trust EU. Forty-seven percent of them said that they don’t. Three percent refused to rate the Union.

All of those who refused to rate the countries and international organizations are aware of the latter.