Trust in Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte falls to lowest level, survey claims
Trust is used by independent pollster Social Weather Stations (SWS) to gauge public opinion with a president’s personality
Public trust in Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte dropped to the lowest of his presidency, a survey showed on Saturday, although he still maintained a rating of “very good”.
Trust is used by independent pollster Social Weather Stations (SWS) to gauge public opinion with a president’s personality.
It fell 8 points in the second quarter to +57 from +65 in an earlier poll. It was the popular leader’s lowest score in nine surveys taken since he took office in June 2016.
To reach each rating, the surveys subtract the percentage who respond with “low trust” in Duterte from those who said they had “much trust” in him.
SWS surveyed 1,200 people at the end of June, in a week when Duterte called God “stupid” during a verbal assault on the Catholic Church after top priests criticised his bloody anti-narcotics campaign, which has killed thousands of people. The Philippines is majority Catholic.
Duterte again hit out at the church in a news conference on Saturday, calling priests’ groups “the most hypocritical institution in the Philippines today”, with the church facing child abuse cases in the Philippines and elsewhere.