STATE OF THE NATION

Satisfaction with the direction of the country

77% of respondents affirmed their satisfaction. However South Luzon expressed more dissatisfaction. Big majorities paint a better economic outlook for the country, especially for voters in North and Central Luzon. For those in South Luzon, the outlook is otherwise.

Awareness Ratings

a. Top 5 government officials

Awareness for PRRD is universal while there are voters in North Luzon who are not aware of the Vice President. On the other hand, former Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III and former Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno have low awareness ratings from North Luzon. Meanwhile, only half of respondents are aware of House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.

b. International organizations

Among the international organizations measured in the poll, ASEAN has the highest awareness rating at 86% – more so from Regions 1 and 2. Majority awareness rating of the UN is driven by those from Regions 4A and 4B. While EU is recognized by only 29% of voters in Balance Luzon.

c. Countries

Among countries measured for awareness in the poll, the USA and China have the highest ratings at 97% and 95% respectively. They are followed by Japan at 89%, Canada ay 80%, Australia at 77%, India at 73%, Russia at 74%, and Spain at 73%.

Countries’ favorability

Of these countries respondents have a favorable opinion of the USA and Canada. China, on the other hand, gets the lowest favorable opinion from respondents. 38% are uncertain about their opinion about China.

Countries who respect the Philippines

When asked who among the countries measured in the poll respects the Philippines, overwhelming majorities say the USA and Canada, followed by Japan and Australia. Russia and India were chosen by majorities, while only 31% say China has respect; half (50% ) say China does not respect the Philippines.

Country more important to foreign relations of the Philippines

Among the countries measured (USA, Japan, China, Spain), voters in Balance Luzon see the USA as important to foreign relations of the country at 62%, while 11% chose China.

Country who loves the Philippines

When asked who among the 4 countries they think loves the Philippines, 61% said the USA while 8% said China and only 2% said Spain.

Country that represents the greatest threat to the Philippines

As to who they perceive as the country that poses the greatest threat to the Philippines, 74% of Balance Luzon voters said China, while 6% said the USA. Across the regions, most voters see China as a threat.

Agreement/ Disagreement with whether we are better off with an independent foreign policy

More than half or 59% of voters agree we are better off with an independent foreign policy while the rest are split between disagreement and uncertainty.

Aspects of PH’s relations with the ASEAN, UN, EU

Majorities think that it will be favorable for the Philippines to have close relations with ASEAN, be active in it, have critical or solid collaboration with its member countries; but only almost half say they are favorable to us being a leader of the group. Less than half of the voters favorably think along the same lines as regards the United Nations; and almost a third say we should quit being a member since it does not treat countries fairly. Less than a third favorably think along the same lines regarding the European Union, with 58% manifesting they have not thought about whether it is favorable to reject grants from the EU if it continues to interfere with domestic policy.

Interest in politics

Since the election of PRRD, half of voters from Balance Luzon are more interested in politics, especially in Regions 1 and 2 while voters in CAR and Region 5 registered the lowest interest.

Approval and Trust ratings of top 5 government officials

Among the top 5 government officials in the country PRRD enjoys the highest approval rating form voters in Balance Luzon, with those who truly approve twice as strong as Vice President Robredo’s at 52% and 26% respectively. Voters form the North are the strongest approvers of the President while the Vice President’s approvers registered from Region 5 and Region 3. Meanwhile, with less exposure in the news compared to PRRD and VP Robredo, voters are not fully aware of the performance of the Chief Justice, the Senate President, and the House Speaker as about half of the voters are unsure and have no opinion about their performance. A third approves of the Chief justice.

PRRD and VP Robredo are the most trusted top government officials with 93% and 73% respectively. Voters who trust PRRD the most come from North Luzon, while VP Robredo’s trust ratings surge in her home region, Bicol. As PRRD allies, voters from North Luzon drove the trust ratings of the former Senate President and the House Speaker. Both registered total trust ratings of 52% and 37% respectively. 2 of 5 register trust for the former Chief Justice.

Trust in Institutions

In terms of trust in institutions, voters in Balance Luzon gave the government, AFP and PNP good overall trust ratings of 88%, 83%, and 74% respectively. Moreover, voters’ trust in the media is almost the same at the PNP’s. The business sector is being trusted by 8/10 voters in Balance Luzon. NGOs, on the other hand, are the least trusted institution by voters. The administration of PRRD is trusted by 9 in 10 voters in Balance Luzon. It is seen that those from Region 2 are solid supporters of this administration as this group contributed the largest in terms of trust for both the President and the whole government. Contrary to the strong trust posted from voters in Region 2 in institutions as the AFP and the PNP, it is noticeable that PRRD, the government, the APF and PNP has yet to earn the trust of voters from Region 5.

Trust in the Media

Media garnered trust from a big majority of voters. Overall, less than half claim they trust the broadsheets available. Among the broadsheets, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippine Star, and Manila Bulletin have the highest trust at 44%, 42%, and 41% ratings respectively, followed by Manila Times and Business Mirror at 35% and 28% respectively. It was noted that 40% of voters claim they are not reading broadsheets. About a third of voters trust tabloids.

TV received high trust ratings from Balance Luzon voters, especially ABS-CBN and GMA 7 at 88% and 89% respectively. It was noted though that CNN Philippines, TV5, and PTV4 do not enjoy the big trust from voters as the two. On the other hand, radio is trusted by half of the voters mainly driven by DZMM, DZRH, Bombo Radyo, and DZBB.

On social media, though Facebook garnered the highest trust rating at 34%, it may not be the optimal level due to the proliferation of fake news in the platform. And this might be why 34% of the voters are not reading news from Facebook. The rest of the social media platforms have around 8 in 10 voters who do not have an opinion and do not get news from them. Search engines and online only media such as online news sites, blogs and forums received much lower trust ratings from voters.

Decisiveness Ratings of Top Government Officials

Among the top 5 government officials, PRRD is the clearest choice of voters in Luzon as being decisive at 90%. Though this is apparent in Region 5, the region recognizes VP Robredo’s decisiveness more than other areas.