8 in 10 Filipinos have ‘much trust’ in President Duterte – SWS

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — President Rodrigo Duterte started his six-year term as chief executive with an “excellent” public trust rating, a survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed.

The nationwide poll was conducted June 24 to 27, just days before Duterte formally assumed presidency on June 30.

Of 1,200 respondents interviewed for the survey, 84 percent or 8 in 10 Filipinos said they have “much trust” in Duterte, while a meager 5 percent said they have “little trust” in him, yielding a net public trust rating of +79 percent for the then incoming president. The remaining 11 percent were “undecided.”

SWS classifies net trust ratings over +70 percent as “excellent.”

The results of the survey, which has a margin of error of ±3 percent, were released by SWS’ media partner, BusinessWorld on its website Wednesday.

Unsurprisingly, the first President from Mindanao got his highest trust rating of +90 there, followed by +78 percent in Metro Manila, +75 in the rest of Luzon, and +74 in the Visayas region.

Related: Hopes of a better future rises among Mindanaons under a Duterte presidency

Duterte received an “excellent” rating across the board: respondents’ income classes, age groups, and educational attainments.

He got a +82 rating from income class ABC and +79 in classes D and E.

Filipinos young and old trusted the 71-year-old President. The youth, or those aged 18 to 24, gave him the highest trust rating of +88, while those aged 55 years and above gave him +70 percent.

Duterte received the highest level of trust from Filipinos with higher educational attainment: +87 from college graduates, +81 from college undergraduates, +74 from those who reached high school, and +76 from those who did not finish elementary.

Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said while the President would appreciate this high level of trust, Duterte would probably say it’s just part of his job.

“I’m sure he would appreciate the trust and he would say, if I know him, na ‘trabaho lang ‘yan (that’s just my job), that’s part of the job and that we will continue to do our part,” Abella said.

After promising “genuine change” on an anti-crime and anti-corruption platform, Duterte garnered 16,601,997 votes in the May 9 elections, over 6.6 million more than his closest rival, Liberal Party candidate Mar Roxas.

Also read: President Duterte vows to restore Filipinos' faith in government

Despite his popularity, Duterte has not always had a high trust rating.

His latest trust rating is a major leap from the level in December 2015 – the first time SWS measured the public’s trust in him – when Duterte received only a "moderate" +16 net trust rating as a presidential candidate. It ranged from +13 in January to +17 in February. It rose to +26 in March, and reached “good" at +30 in April. Just before the May 9 polls, it was a "moderate” +26, the SWS said.

CNN Philippines' Ina Andolong contributed to this report.