85 per cent of us trust Uncle Sam

US President Barack Obama, center left, and Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, center right, arrive for their bilateral meeting at Malacanang Palace in Manila. AP PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – At least eight of 10 Filipinos surveyed have “much trust” in the Philippines’ closest ally, the United States, the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) poll showed.

“Trust in the United States of America is presently at 85 percent – much more than any other country – among adult Filipinos in general,” the SWS said in its first quarter survey conducted March 27 to 30.

Of the 85 percent, 43 percent said they have “very much trust” while 41 percent said they have “somewhat much trust” with the US.

Only nine percent said they are undecided while two percent said they have very little trust with the US, the poll said.

This means the Philippines’ former colonizer enjoyed a 79 percent net trust score, classified by the SWS as “excellent.”

The latest result was just three points below the record-high excellent score in December 2013, when trust rating went up to 82 percent, from 80 percent in August 2012.

Across the Philippines’ main island groups, the US has excellent trust ratings – 80 percent in Mindanao, 80 percent in Luzon, and 79 percent in Visayas. Meanwhile, the US has a 71 percent trust rating in Metro Manila.

In all social classes, the US also has an excellent trust rating – 85 percent in class ABC, 78 percent in class D or the “masa” (masses), and 78 percent in class E.

US also has an excellent rating in both men and women, at 80 percent and 77 percent, respectively.

The survey was done among 1,200 adults in Metro Manila, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

The SWS survey was made as a similar study by the Global Attitudes Project of Pew Research Center in Washington showed that more Filipinos (85 percent) love the US more than Americans themselves (81 percent).

The SWS results were released on the day US President Barack Obama visited the Philippines in his last stop of his Asian tour, part of the US bid to rebalance its forces in the region amid China’s increasing political and military might.

The US president started his state visit just hours after the signing of an agreement between the Philippines and US allowing an increased presence of American troops in this former US colony.

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