Ahead of Sona, Marcos trust rating up 10 pts; Sara steady
Ahead of his fourth State of the Nation Address (Sona), President Marcos’ trust rating rose by double digits for the first time since last year, according to a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.
The survey released on Monday night showed that the President’s trust rating went up by 10 percentage points, from 38 percent in May to 48 percent in June, marking a significant rebound from a downward trend that began last year.
From 64 percent in July 2024, his “‘much trust” rating dropped to 57 percent in September of that year, and further slid to 36 percent by April 2025. It began to recover with a slight two-point increase in May before the sharp jump last month.
According to the survey conducted among 1,200 Filipino adults across the country from June 25 to 29, 48 percent expressed a great deal of trust in Mr. Marcos, 30 percent had little trust, and 21 percent were undecided.
Respondents who answered “little trust” in the President fell from 39 percent to 30 percent, while those who were “undecided” remained steady at 21 percent. This yielded a net trust rating (percentage of “much trust” minus percentage of “little trust”) of +18, up sharply from the -1 in the previous month.
VP, other top officials
However, Mr. Marcos’ trust rating in June lags behind Vice President Sara Duterte’s 61 percent.
Duterte’s numbers remained largely unchanged, inching from 60 percent to 61 percent. The percentage of respondents who said they had “little trust” in her stayed at 23 percent, while those undecided dropped slightly from 16 percent to 14 percent.
Her net trust rating rose by one point, from +37 to +38.
Duterte’s trust rating had also been going down from a high 65 percent in July 2024 to 49 percent in January 2025. Since then, however, her figures have consistently improved.
Among other top officials, Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero saw his trust rating rise from 47 percent to 55 percent. His “little trust” rating declined from 28 percent to 23 percent, while those undecided slightly dropped from 23 percent to 21 percent. This brought his net trust rating up from +19 to +31.
Public awareness of Escudero also increased slightly, from 96 percent to 97 percent.
Speaker Martin Romualdez’s trust rating, on the other hand, improved from 26 percent to 34 percent. His “little trust” score significantly declined from 43 percent to 34 percent, while the percentage of undecided respondents held steady at 27 percent. As a result, his net trust rating climbed from -17 to 0.
His awareness rating remained unchanged at 90 percent.
House, Senate
A separate SWS survey released the same day showed improved public trust in the Senate and House of Representatives. The Senate’s rating rose from 58 percent in May to 64 percent in June, while the House saw a boost from 49 percent to 57 percent over the same period.
The percentage of respondents expressing “little trust” in the Senate fell from 19 percent to 13 percent, and for the House, from 24 percent to 17 percent. Meanwhile, those undecided moved slightly from 22 percent to 21 percent for the Senate, and from 25 percent to 24 percent for the House.
In terms of net trust rating, the Senate’s jumped from +38 to +51, while the House’s nearly doubled from +26 to +40.
Awareness of the Senate rose from 98 percent to 100 percent, and for the House, from 96 percent to 97 percent.
Both SWS surveys had a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3 percentage points for the national percentages and plus-or-minus 6 percentage points each for Metro Manila, Luzon outside Metro Manila, the Visayas and Mindanao.
‘Renewed public confidence’
The respondents were asked to assess their level of trust in key government officials using the following categories: very much, somewhat much, undecided if much or little, somewhat little, and very little.
It was commissioned by Stratbase Group, an advisory and research consultancy firm based in Makati City.
“The significant increase in President Marcos’ trust rating signals a possible renewed public confidence in his administration,” professor Victor Andres “Dindo” Manhit, Stratbase Group president, said in a statement.
“He must sustain these trust ratings since they are crucial indicators of political stability and governance performance,” he added. “Ultimately, public trust must be earned through transparent leadership, accountability, and a strong commitment to public service.”
‘Relentless attacks’
In a briefing in Malacañang, Palace press officer Undersecretary Claire Castro welcomed the rise in the President’s trust rating, “despite the relentless attacks from these obstructionists who do nothing but try to tear him down and refuse to see the good work the President is doing.”
“We believe that the people—the respondents who participated in this survey—recognized what the President and the administration have been doing. It is encouraging to see that the public is now noticing the efforts of the administration,” she said.
But the good survey numbers would not be a factor for the Marcos administration to be “complacent,” Castro added. “Regardless of what the survey results show, our President and this administration will continue to serve and work.”
As the newly appointed head of the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), acting Secretary Dave Gomez earlier said among the things that he would “revisit and study” is the communication strategy to improve the President’s trust rating, by prioritizing communicating the government’s programs and policies, promoting press freedom, and pushing for the digital transformation not only of the PCO but of the entire administration.
“We just want to focus on [the President’s] programs and policies. We want less talk about politics. That would be a good lead-up to the Sona where the President will be giving his report to the nation,” Gomez said.
Mr. Marcos will deliver his fourth Sona on July 28 at Batasang Pambansa Complex in Quezon City as the 20th Congress opens. —WITH A REPORT FROM INQUIRER RESEARCH
