36% of Filipinos approve of Marcos’ work in past 3 months

A recent Pulse Asia survey showed that fewer than half of Filipino adults expressed approval of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s work in the past three months, while approval was the dominant sentiment for Vice President Sara Duterte’s performance.

The survey indicated that 36% of respondents approved of Marcos’ performance, compared with 55% who approved of Duterte’s work.

“Approval for the President’s work is more pronounced than indecision on the matter (36% versus 18%). Conversely, disapproval of the Vice President’s performance is more marked than ambivalence toward it (27% versus 18%),” the survey noted.

Geographically and socioeconomically, the survey found that the only majority approval score for the President was in the rest of Luzon at 54%.

In contrast, disapproval of his work was highest in Mindanao (73%) and the Visayas (61%).

For her part, Duterte posted strong approval ratings in Mindanao (95%) and the Visayas (72%), as well as among lower-income groups—Class E (81%) and Class D (57%).

Class D refers to the lower-middle or working class, while Class E represents the poorest households.

In Metro Manila, half of adults (50%) approved of the Vice President's performance, while in the rest of Luzon, a significant plurality (44%) disapproved.

At the national level, the survey reported that distrust was the prevailing sentiment toward the President at 44%, while 35% expressed trust and 21% were undecided.

Meanwhile, 54% of adults said they trust the Vice President. Levels of distrust toward Duterte were slightly higher than ambivalence (26% versus 20%).

The survey fieldwork was conducted from February 27 to March 2, 2026, using face-to-face interviews.

This nationwide survey was based on a sample of 1,200 representative adults aged 18 and above, with a ±2.8% error margin at the 95% confidence level.—MCG, GMA Integrated News