A few months into Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial, only a minority of Filipino adults have decided that one of the parties is performing better than the other. According to The National Momentum Survey, most have either tuned out the proceedings or are still on the fence.

The non-commissioned survey, conducted from August 18 to 23, asked Filipino adults nationwide which team is doing a better job between the prosecution and defense. It found that Filipinos have not reached a consensus, considering that 50.3% say they are not following the impeachment trial and a combined 11.2% are unsure and refuse to answer.

Nearly a quarter (23.3%), however, believe the vice president’s defense team is outperforming the prosecution in the ongoing proceedings. Only 15.2% are more in favor of the prosecution’s performance.

When the national survey was conducted, the prosecution was in the middle of presenting evidence and witness testimonies on Article II of the impeachment articles, which refers to the alleged misuse of confidential funds.

The hesitation of Filipino adults to decide on the better team may also stem from how nearly half (47.9%) believe it is still too early to determine whether or not Duterte should be convicted or acquitted.

Interestingly, though, more Filipino adults believe the vice president should be convicted (24.4%) than those who say she should be acquitted (16.0%) despite there being more in favor of the defense’s performance.

The numbers are quite different along partisan lines. Independents, who constitute 45.5% of the overall sample, are predominantly disengaged: 59.5% do not follow the trial, and a combined 13.2% are unsure or refuse to answer. The few Independent Filipino adults who have a definite position are evenly split between the defense and prosecution (13.7% each).

Although more Pro-Marcos (39.6%) and Pro-Opposition Filipinos (48.5%) also say they don’t monitor the proceedings, those with a stance lean more in favor of the prosecution than the defense.

Thirty-one percent of Pro-Marcos Filipinos believe the prosecution is outperforming the defense, while 34.7% of Pro-Opposition Filipinos share the same view.

Meanwhile, views across generations are similar to the national findings. Gen X, however, appears to be the most uncertain age group, with 53.2% of them saying they do not follow the impeachment trial, and a combined 13.8% are unsure and refuse to answer.

Combined, these account for about 2 in 3 Gen X Filipinos, compared with about 3 in 5 in each of the other generational groups.

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.