Filipinos’ trust in government, 5 other institutions decline

MANILA, Philippines – Filipinos’ trust levels in six key institutions in the country  – government, business sector, media, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the Church, and the academe has declined.

According to the Philippine Trust Index (PTI) 2019, launched by communications consultancy EON Group, Filipinos’ trust in the government dropped from 80 percent in 2017 to 76 percent in 2019.

The index noted that while there was a drop in the trust level of Filipinos towards the government, “extreme trust levels for the institution has remained the same since 2017.”

Young Filipinos are least trusting of the government while Mindanaoans trust  the government the most, compared to Filipinos from other areas, the index showed.

Further, the index stated that the Office of the President remains the most trusted office in the government after reporting an increase from 82 percent in 2017 to 83 percent in 2019.

The Office of the Vice President, Senate, House of Representatives, and the Supreme Court all reported declines in trust level.

Meanwhile, Filipinos’ trust levels in other key institutions in the society also declined, including the Church which reported a drop from 93 percent in 2017 to 90 percent in 2019.

It, however, remains the most trusted institution along with the academe.

Trust levels in other institutions also declined when compared to data from 2017.

Academe – from 93 percent to 90 percent
Business Sector – from 75 percent to 71 percent
Media – from 78 percent to 69 percent
NGOs – from 59 percent to 37 percent
The index further noted a drop in Filipinos’ performance ratings of the trust drivers across all institutions.

“Changes around us are becoming more turbulent and societies more fragmented, that trust now holds an even greater power across all institutions,” said Junie del Mundo, co-founder and Chief Executive of the EON Group.

Despite the drop in trust levels, the index noted that 99 percent of Filipinos still chose to retain the Philippines as their country of residence.

“We hope that through the PTI, we can all get a glimpse of a snapshot of our people’s wealth of trust, and that we are all provoked to ask the right questions moving forward,” del Mundo said.

“This wealth of trust, like any wealth, must be managed, grown, and invested properly. After all, this is the only kind of wealth we can truly keep and bring with us after we pass on,” del Mundo added.

The recently launched index is already the sixth iteration of the PTI which entailed gathering of responses from over 1,400 Filipinos across the country from March to April 2019.

The results have a margin of ±4, with a confidence level of 95%. /gsg