Trust in gov’t surges – survey

Filipinos today trust their government — especially the executive branch — almost thrice as much as they did in 2015, thanks to the perception that the Duterte administration is effective in fighting corruption, preparing communities for disasters and calamities and in ensuring national security.

The results of the fifth Philippine Trust Index survey conducted by public relations firm Eon also revealed that the public’s trust of the business sector, the academe and nongovernment organizations improved this year, even while trust levels for the media and the Church remained stagnant.

“Specifically for the government, trust hinges on initiatives that impact Filipinos’ lives in tangible ways,” Eon said in a statement, adding that survey results from recent years indicate that “Filipinos value the government’s ability to ensure peace and security and help the poor as the foremost driver of trust, followed by the provision of better job opportunities and imprisoning corrupt politicians.”

Greatest belief in gov’t

Filipinos expressed greatest belief in the government as extreme trust ratings almost tripled since 2015 and overall trust levels rose by 30 percentage points.

The survey also revealed that among government sub-institutions, the Office of the President (82 percent) and local government units (78 percent) are the most trusted. Collectively, the executive branch was the most trusted, while the legislative branch was the least trusted in government.

Meanwhile, about 93 percent of the respondents considered government agencies providing social services such as PhilHealth, Social Security System and the Department of Education to be trustworthy.

Respondents were more skeptical about agencies they were less familiar with.

The survey was conducted among 1,200 respondents nationwide aged 18 and above from March to April. Among this pool is a sample of 600 respondents who were deemed to be part of the “informed public”—at least 25 years old, with at least three years of tertiary education, and consume news updates at least twice a week.

‘Very good’

The latest nationwide poll results of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) also showed that public satisfaction with the Duterte administration remained “very good” in the second quarter.

Conducted from June 23 to 26, the SWS survey found 75 percent of 1,200 respondents satisfied with the administration, while 11 percent were dissatisfied and 13 percent were undecided.

The second quarter poll, results of which were first published in BusinessWorld, had a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3 percentage points. —With a report from Inquirer Research