President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. recorded his worst approval figures since taking office in 2022, with a new Social Weather Stations poll showing his net satisfaction rating sliding deeper into negative territory in the first three months of the year.
The survey, released Tuesday, placed Marcos at -15 — a rating SWS classifies as “poor” and one that eclipses his previous personal low of -12, recorded in March 2025. The decline represents a 12-point drop from the -3 “neutral” reading he posted in November 2025.
Dissatisfaction with the president climbed to 49 percent from 43 percent in the previous survey period, while those expressing satisfaction fell to 33 percent from 40 percent. Undecided respondents edged up marginally, from 17 to 18 percent. The net satisfaction figure is derived by subtracting the dissatisfied share from the satisfied share.
The slump was consistent across all geographic areas, with the steepest dissatisfaction recorded in Mindanao — the political stronghold of Vice President Sara Duterte, who has become Marcos’ primary political rival. Dissatisfaction there stood at 61 percent, up from 56 percent, while only 20 percent of Mindanao respondents expressed satisfaction, down from 28 percent.
Metro Manila showed a similar trend, with dissatisfaction rising to 59 percent from 51 percent and satisfaction falling to 28 percent from 34 percent. In the Visayas, satisfaction dropped 10 points to 34 percent, the sharpest regional decline recorded in the survey. Balance Luzon remained the most favorable area for Marcos, though satisfaction there also dipped to 42 percent from 46 percent.
The poll was conducted from March 24 to 31, covering 1,500 respondents nationwide, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Ratings also fell across most age groups and educational levels.
Under SWS’ classification scale, ratings between -10 and -29 fall within the “poor” band, with further categories extending to “bad,” “very bad,” and “execrable” below it.
