Voters in Metro Manila registered the strongest preference for a legally grounded impeachment verdict, with 77 percent of respondents in the capital region saying senator-judges should rule on Vice President Sara Duterte’s case using law and evidence alone. Balance Luzon followed at 76 percent, while support dipped to 63 percent in the Visayas and 62 percent in Mindanao.
The regional breakdown came from Octa Research’s Tugon ng Masa poll, whose national findings were made public Friday. Across the full sample, 71 percent of adult Filipinos chose law and evidence over political considerations as the proper basis for a verdict. Twenty-one percent said partisan factors should carry the most weight, 7 percent gave no opinion, and 1 percent declined to respond.
Octa framed the numbers as a statement about institutions rather than about Duterte herself. “One of the study’s most important findings is that respondents were not asked whether Vice President Sara Duterte should be convicted or acquitted. Instead, they were asked what should matter most when senators cast their votes,” the polling group said.
Provincial figures showed wide variation. Region II recorded the highest share favoring an evidence-based ruling at 89 percent, followed by Mimaropa at 85 percent and Region III at 81 percent. At the opposite end, BARMM registered 46 percent and Caraga 45 percent. Preference for political considerations peaked in Region VI at 43 percent, with BARMM at 36 percent and Regions VIII and IX each at 35 percent.
Age patterns proved less pronounced. Respondents between 25 and 34 and those between 55 and 64 both hit 73 percent in favor of a law-based standard, while the oldest bracket — 75 and above — came in at 62 percent, with 20 percent in that group unsure. The youngest voters, aged 18 to 24, showed the greatest openness to political factors at 26 percent.
The poll surveyed 1,200 respondents from July 4 to 11, coinciding with the opening phase of the Senate proceedings. It was non-commissioned and carries a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level, with the same confidence level applied to its NCR, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao subsamples.
Octa read the results as a signal about public trust in state institutions. “The findings indicate that public confidence in democratic institutions is likely to be strengthened when decisions are perceived to be grounded in constitutional standards, evidence, and fairness rather than political expediency or partisan considerations,” the group said.
