The new Pulse Asia survey showed Vice President Sara Duterte still enjoying much higher trust and approval ratings than President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. even as her impeachment trial continues in the Senate.
The survey was conducted from Sept. 17 to 24 with 2,400 respondents. It has a 2 percent error margin.
Marcos ratings barely change
Marcos’s trust rating was 29 percent, up marginally from 28 percent in July. His distrust rating fell to 48 percent from 51 percent. Undecided respondents increased from 21 percent to 22 percent.
His approval rating increased from 29 to 30 percent, and his disapproval rating decreased from 50 to 49 percent. Undecided respondents remained at 21 percent.
Duterte keeps majority ratings
Whereas Marcos had majorities in trust and approval, Duterte had them both. Her trust rating dropped from 58 percent to 55 percent. Her distrust rating remained at 27%, but the undecided category climbed from 16% to 19%.
Her approval rating dropped to 54 percent from 56 percent. Her disapproval rating fell to 27 percent from 29 percent, while those who were undecided rose to 18 percent from 15 percent.
OVP aid drops sharply
The Office of the Vice President (OVP), meanwhile, released just P5.16 million in medical and burial assistance from its own budget in 2025. This was over 99 percent lower than the P820.77 million it released in 2024, a report from the Commission on Audit (COA) said.
The OVP’s financial statements also showed it gave P59.936 million in aid in 2025 but this was from a cash donation by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor). In previous years, the OVP also got aid from the same Pagcor donations amounting to P29.93 million.
Funding removed from budget
Within days, COA flagged the mysterious use of millions of pesos in confidential funds, and the national budget for 2025 removed funding for the aid programme. Lawmakers also proposed to cut the OVP’s social welfare projects, stating these overlap with the programmes of the Department of Health and Department of Social Welfare and Development.
The OVP’s budget was P2.448 billion in 2023, P1.898 billion in 2024 and P766.146 million in 2025.