In the past three months, trust and approval in President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. slightly improved in the first quarter of 2026, but nearly half of Filipinos still expressed distrust toward the President, while Vice President Sara Duterte remained the country’s most trusted top official, according to the Pulse Asia 1st Quarter 2026 “Ulat ng Bayan” survey results released on Monday, March 16.
The survey was conducted from February 27 to March 2, 2026, using face-to-face interviews with 1,200 representative adults aged 18 and above nationwide. Pulse Asia said the poll has a ±2.8 percent margin of error at the 95 percent confidence level.
Results of the polling firm showed that 44 percent of respondents distrusted Marcos, while 35 percent said they trusted him, and 21 percent were undecided. His trust rating marked a slight increase from 32 percent in December 2025.
Distrust and disapproval were the dominant sentiments toward the President, with 45 percent disapproving of his performance and 36 percent approving, while 18 percent remained undecided.
“Across geographic and socioeconomic subgroupings, the only majority approval score of the President is recorded in the rest of Luzon (54%). In contrast, disapproval for the latter’s work prevails in the Visayas (61%), Mindanao (73%), and Class E (60%),” the pollster noted.
“Almost half of those belonging to Class D (47%) also have a negative assessment of presidential performance. While the same approval and disapproval ratings are posted by the President in Metro Manila (both at 42%), a three-way divide may be observed in Class ABC (41% approval, 29% indecision, and 30% disapproval),” it added.
In contrast, Duterte continued to post stronger numbers. The survey found that 54 percent of respondents trusted the Vice President, while 26 percent distrusted her and 20 percent were undecided.
She also received higher approval ratings for her work, with 55 percent of Filipino adults approving of her performance in the past three months. Meanwhile, 27 percent disapproved and 18 percent were undecided.
For the President, less than half of Filipino adults (45 percent) expressed appreciation for his work during the same period. However, approval still exceeded indecision, with 36 percent approving and 10 percent unable to give an opinion, according to Pulse Asia.
Duterte, meanwhile, registered majority approval ratings across several areas, including 72 percent in the Visayas, 95 percent in Mindanao, 57 percent among Class D, and 81 percent among Class E respondents. Half of respondents in Metro Manila also approved of her performance, while a large plurality in the rest of Luzon expressed disapproval.
