President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and several lawmakers have brushed off the implications of recent Pulse Asia survey results that cast his administration in a less favorable light while showing stronger public support for the Dutertes.
In a press briefing during his Kuala Lumpur trip, Marcos addressed a Pulse Asia survey that pegged his trust rating at just 32 percent—trailing behind former President Rodrigo Duterte at 63 percent and Vice President Sara Duterte at 50 percent.
“There are many other survey firms. Let’s not base it on one,” the President told reporters, as quoted by Inquirer.net. He emphasized the need to assess information sources carefully, stating: “Imperfect information makes you make imperfect decisions.”
Back in the Philippines, members of the House prosecution panel tasked with pursuing Sara Duterte’s impeachment echoed the President’s sentiments. 1-Rider Partylist Rep. Rodge Gutierrez said survey results should be taken “with a grain of salt,” while Iloilo Rep. Lorenz Defensor stressed that public sentiment does not influence the legal weight of evidence.
“I agree that the Vice President has many supporters and that’s one of the reasons why we want to speed up the trial and conclude this impeachment process as soon as possible,” Defensor noted.
A separate Pulse Asia survey also found that half of the population disagreed with the impeachment case against the Vice President. But critics of the Duterte family see a different issue at play.
ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro attributed the survey numbers to a surge of “disinformation,” warning about the machinery behind efforts to reshape public perception. “This reflects the impact of the widespread propaganda and fake news machinery that has been systematically built to whitewash Rodrigo Duterte’s crimes against humanity,” she said.
The Palace has yet to release any formal response beyond the President’s comments.
