The performance approval ratings of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte barely changed from July to August, according to The National Momentum Survey. Marcos’ net approval remains negative, while Duterte’s is still positive.
The difference between the president’s and vice president’s approval ratings, however, mostly varied by political factions, regions, and generations.
The non-commissioned survey, conducted from August 18 to 23, asked Filipino adults nationwide whether they found the president and vice president’s performance “good,” “very good,” “poor,” or “very poor.”
It found that majority of Filipino adults are still dissatisfied with the president’s performance (57.4%), while only 38.5% are generally satisfied, resulting in a net approval of -18.9 percentage points.
The opposite can be observed for the vice president: 61.3% of Filipinos approve of her performance, while 31.8% disapprove, leaving a net approval of +29.5 percentage points.
Net approval is the difference between the share of Filipino adults who approve and the share of those who disapprove of a public official’s performance.
A positive net approval means more Filipino adults rate the official’s performance as “good” or “very good,” while a negative net approval means more rate it as “poor” or “very poor.”
Who approves of Marcos’ performance?
Across most demographic groups, Filipino adults disapprove of Marcos’ performance.
However, older generations are more likely to say the president is doing a good job in fulfilling his duties.
About half of Gen X Filipinos (51.6%) say they are satisfied with Marcos’ performance, for a net approval of +8.6 percentage points. His net approval is even higher among Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation, at +16.5 percentage points.
Filipino adults who identify themselves as Pro-Marcos also give the president high approval, with a net approval of +62.7 percentage points. Only 18.6% of this group disapprove, the lowest share among all subgroups.
Net approval, on the other hand, is lowest among Gen Z, Pro-Duterte, middle-income and LGBTQIA+ Filipinos, as well as those in Mindanao, falling below -40 percentage points in each of these demographic subgroups.
Filipino adults in the Rest of Luzon are more divided on Marcos’ performance as president.
Roughly 48.7% in the region approve of his performance, while 46.3% disapprove, resulting in a net approval of only +2.4 percentage points.
Who approves of Duterte’s performance?
The vice president largely received high approval from most demographic subgroups. Only a few lean toward disapproval or are split on whether she is performing her duties well or poorly.
Her highest net ratings come from Millennials (+51.1 pp), Pro-Duterte Filipinos (+86.9 pp), and those with no formal education (+59.6 pp) or only some or completed elementary education (+51.2 pp).
Among regional areas, Mindanao is the most satisfied with Duterte’s performance (87.3%).
Only 7.9% in the region disapprove of her performance as vice president, resulting in a net approval of +79.4 percentage points.
Meanwhile, disapproval is highest among Filipino adults who align themselves with her family’s political rivals.
Pro-Opposition Filipino adults gave Duterte the lowest approval (33.7%) of any subgroup, for a net of -28.9 percentage points. Among Pro-Marcos Filipino adults, Duterte’s net approval is -12 percentage points, indicating that more from this group find her performance poor than good.
The president’s and vice president’s performance approval ratings were measured against the backdrop of the flood control corruption scandal, rising prices of basic goods and fuel, the proposed Pax Silica hub and postponement of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, and Duterte’s ongoing impeachment trial.
Conducted from August 18 to 23, the National Momentum Survey was carried out through face-to-face interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,487 Filipino adults. It has a national margin of error of ±2.5 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.
Subnational margins of error are ±6.9% for the National Capital Region, ±3.8% for the Rest of Luzon (North, South, and Central Luzon), ±5.8% for Visayas, and ±5.5% for Mindanao — all at a 95% confidence level.
Find the complete survey results on our public dashboard at momentumresearch.ph.
