PUBLIC trust in President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declined in the fourth quarter of 2025, while Vice President Sara Duterte recorded gains in both trust and performance ratings, according to the latest Tugon ng Masa (TNM) nationwide survey released by Octa Research on Monday.
The independent and nonpartisan survey showed Marcos’ trust rating dropped by nine percentage points, from 57 percent in September 2025 to 48 percent in December. He continued to post majority trust ratings in most regions, except in the National Capital Region (NCR) at 42 percent and in Mindanao at 36 percent. His highest trust rating was recorded in Balance of Luzon at 54 percent.
Octa said 31 percent of Filipinos expressed distrust toward the president, with the highest level recorded in Mindanao at 52 percent, while 22 percent of respondents remained undecided.
Marcos’ performance rating also declined slightly, from 54 percent to 51 percent. His strongest performance rating was again in Balance of Luzon at 58 percent, while the lowest was in Mindanao at 42 percent.
“Comparisons between the third and fourth quarters of 2025 show a decline in trust and a modest decrease in performance ratings for the President across several regions and socioeconomic groups,” OCTA said in its report.
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In contrast, Duterte saw her trust rating increase from 51 percent to 53 percent. Her highest level of trust was recorded in Mindanao at 89 percent, while the lowest was in Balance of Luzon at 36 percent.
About 26 percent of adult Filipinos said they distrust the vice president, with the highest levels recorded in NCR at 37 percent and in Balance of Luzon at 34 percent.
Duterte’s performance rating also rose, from 49 percent to 54 percent. Octa said her highest performance rating was in Mindanao at 79 percent, while the lowest was again in Balance of Luzon at 41 percent.
“Over the same period, the vice president recorded increases in trust and performance ratings, along with lower levels of ambivalence,” Octa added.
The survey fieldwork was conducted from Dec. 16 to 20, 2025, using face-to-face interviews with 1,200 male and female respondents aged 18 and above. The nationwide poll has a margin of error of ±3 percent at a 95-percent confidence level, while subnational estimates for NCR, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao have margins of error of ±6 percent.
OCTA Research said the TNM survey is conducted regularly and the results are noncommissioned and released as a public service to track public sentiment on the performance and credibility of top government officials.
