EXECUTIVE SUMMARY – FINDINGS OF 2021 PAHAYAG QUARTER 3 SURVEY : October 11-18, 2021

PAHAYAG-QUARTER 3 (PHYG-Q3) survey is an independent and non-commissioned poll done by PUBLiCUS Asia Inc. PHYG-Q3 should have been done in September 2021 but was moved to the end of the filing of the Certificate of Candidacy on 8 October 2021 in order to have actual candidates measured. Field work was conducted from October 11 to October 18, 2021.

PHYG-Q3 is a nationwide purposive sampling survey comprised of 1500 respondents drawn from a market research panel of over 200,000 Filipinos maintained by a Singapore-based firm.

There were six (6) modules measured: 1) state of the economy and economic prospects, 2) national issues, 3) scorecard for national leaders and institutions, 4) emotional quotient of incumbent and prospective leaders, 5) media consumption habits and media trust and 6) election preferences.

1. STATE OF THE ECONOMY AND ECONOMIC PROSPECTS

• As Table 1 and Table 2 shows, over two thirds of respondents indicated that they expect some improvements in their financial situation heading into the final quarter of 2021.
• Optimism about the Philippine economy’s prospects held steady with around 62% of respondents indicating that they expect at least some level of economic uptick in the fourth quarter of 2021 (see Table 3).

2. NATIONAL ISSUES

• The extension of the voter registration window was met with extremely high approval at 84% (see Table 5).
• In Table 5, around 70% of respondents approved of the COA audit on the Red Cross. Around 67% approved of the investigation of Pharmally.
• Around 70% of respondents approved of the (prospective) opening of the economy by December. 66% of respondents indicated that they approve of using vaccination cards as a “passport” throughout the Philippines (see Table 5).
• Around 44% of respondents support the granting of a new franchise to ABSCBN. 29%, however, oppose the proposition. It is worth noting that around 27% are indifferent to the proposition (see Table 5).
• Table 6 indicates that around half of respondents indicated they want BIG changes in infrastructure development, assisting OFWS, law enforcement, and general public services (education and health care).
• The share of respondents who indicated that the country is strong increased slightly from 47% in PHYG-Q2 to around 51% in PHYG-Q3 (See Table 7). The long standing geographical split between SL and MIN persists. Again the share of respondents from MIN who indicated the country is strong is higher than the average. In contrast, the share of respondents from SL who indicated the country is weak is higher than the average.
• Around 45% indicated that televised Senate inquiries are worthwhile uses of the time and resources of the country (See Table 8). Around a fifth indicated that they waste the time and resources of the country.
• As Table 9 shows, The ECONOMY, COVID VACCINE, and JOBS remain the most often cited issues. The overall share of COVID VACCINE, however, continues its survey-to-survey decline. Concern over the COVID VACCINE remains high but appears to be waning (i.e., 51% in PHYG-Q2 to 47% in PHYG-Q3).
• GETTING COVID remains the most common concern among respondents with around 64% citing it in their Top 3 lists. Beyond that, GETTING A DISEASE APART FROM COVID received 37% total top 3 mentions. Personal health appears to be the foremost concern among most respondents (see Table 10).
• Personal economic concerns are not far behind personal health concerns. 38% indicated concern over the inability to afford basic needs. Additionally, 35% were concerned about finding employment, 34% were concerned about losing a job, and 23% were concerned about their wages (see Table 10).

3. SCORECARD FOR NATIONAL LEADERS AND INSTITUTIONS

APPROVAL

• Table 11 indicates that President Duterte’s approval rating rebounded slightly from 58% in PHYG-Q2 to 60% in PHYG-Q3.
• In the same table, Vice President Robredo is staying on level with an approval level of around 31% and a disapproval level of 40%.
• The AFP, TESDA, DOST, and DSWD again garnered high approval ratings – with the AFP maintaining its 67% total approval rating. PAF as a new inclusion set its baseline near DOST. The PNP continues its resurgence with an 8% gain in its total approval rating as well as a 10% reduction of its total disapproval rating (see Table 12).
• In Table 14, SEN POE remains at the top with a total approval rating of 50%. SEN GORDON, who was previously at second place, saw his approval rating drop by 12%. Additionally, his total disapproval rose by 11%.
• The approval of SEN PACQUIAO slid further with an 8% loss in total approval and a 5% increase in total disapproval (see Table 15).

TRUST

• President Duterte’s total high trust rating rebounded slightly from 50% in PHYG-Q2 to 53% in PHYG-Q3. In contrast, Vice President Robredo saw a 5% gain in total low trust over the same period. SP Sotto suffered a small decline of 3% in his total high trust rating (see Table 16).
• The AFP and TESDA, again garnered the highest HIGH TRUST ratings. The AFP maintained its high rating of 49% in this quarter (see Table 17).
• The PNP also registered improvements in trust with a 5 point gain in total HIGH TRUST and an 8 point drop in total LOW TRUST. The PNP has now improved its trust ratings in two successive quarters (see Table 17).
• Table 19 indicates that SEN GO again notched the highest total high trust rating but still retained a relatively high total low trust rating. Former trust rating frontrunner SEN PACQUIAO continued his skid with a 5% drop in total high trust and a 6% increase in total low trust. SEN GORDON suffered a substantial drop in total high trust from 30% in PQ2 to 19% in PQ3 (see Table 20). Additionally, his total low trust rose from 26% to 40% over the same time period.

4. EMOTIONAL QUOTIENT OF LEADERS

• Table 21 indicates that the trait share levels of PRESIDENT DUTERTE remained high and are in line with his numbers in previous PAHAYAG survey rounds. VICE PRESIDENT ROBREDO and SP SOTTO, on the other hand, registered sizeable drops in most of their key leadership traits.

5. MEDIA CONSUMPTION HABITS AND RESPONSES TO MEDIA CAMPAIGNS

• In Table 22, high usage rates (at least four times a week) of READING NEWS ON SOCIAL MEDIA and WATCHING NEWS ON TELEVISION dipped slightly in the third quarter but remain high relative to the other news-related activities under consideration (PRINT and RADIO).
• FACEBOOK and YOUTUBE remain the most widely and intensely used media platforms with near-universal usage rates and staggering average daily usage rates (see Table 23).
• The high usage rate (at least three hours a day) of NETFLIX dipped by around 6%. Usage rate also fell by 5%. The reopening of the economy (i.e. less free time as well as more activities on offer) may have led to these dips (see Table 23).
• Usage rates of INSTAGRAM and TWITTER remain in line with levels found in previous quarters (see Table 23).
• Table 24 shows that GMA7, CNN and PDI remain the most trusted media outlets. It is of note, however, that CNN suffered a 7% drop in total high trust in PHYG-Q3. ABSCBN saw its total high trust decrease by 7% – and its total low trust increase by 8%. RAPPLER remains the outfit with the highest total low trust rating of 40%.

6. PREFERENCE

• In Table 25, PATRIOTISM, INTELLIGENCE, BRAVERY, TRUSTWORTHINESS, and SELFLESSNESS remain as the most popular desirable traits among respondents.

PRESIDENT

• Table 26 shows BONGBONG MARCOS emerging as the frontrunner in the PHYG-Q3 at 49.3%. LENI ROBREDO placed second with 21%. ISKO DOMAGOSO placed third with around 9%. PING LACSON and MANNY PACQUIAO are nominally tied at fourth with around 3% apiece.

VICE PRESIDENT

• BONG GO (24%) holds a small lead over WILLIE ONG (19%) and TITO SOTTO (17%). KIKO PANGILINAN is nominally third at around 12%. It is important to note that around 17% of respondents indicated that they have yet to decide on their VP pick (see Table 27).

SENATE

• As Table 28 shows, FRANCIS ESCUDERO is at the top spot with close to 60% of respondents indicating him as one of their preferred senatorial candidates. Tied at second place is returning senator ALAN PETER CAYETANO and newcomer RAFFY TULFO. Veteran senators GATCHALIAN, LEGARDA, and ZUBIRI round out the list of candidates with shares on or above 40%.
• Other first time senate candidates in the top 15 include MARK VILLAR, HERBERT BAUTISTA, and GILBERT TEODORO. Second time candidate CHEL DIOKNO placed twelfth with 27%.

• Other candidates within striking distance of nominal leaders include former vice president JEJOMAR BINAY and actor ROBIN PADILLA – with both polling above the 20% mark (see Table 29).

For clarifications, pls contact:

DAVID B. YAP II
Chief Data Scientist
Cell: +63917 167 9643
Email: dbyap@publicusltd.com

Attachment:
PAHAYAG Quarter 3 Executive Summary Deck