By Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio, Reporter

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. and Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio’s trust ratings fell in September, according to a poll released late on Tuesday, amid a widening corruption scandal involving flood-control projects.

About 43% of Filipinos said they trusted Mr. Marcos, down from 48% in June, according to a statement from policy think tank Stratbase Institute, which commissioned the survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS).

Ms. Duterte’s trust rating dropped by eight points to 53%, the steepest decline this year, according to the think tank.

“These results reflect a shifting public mood,” Stratbase Institute President Victor Andres C. Manhit said in a statement. “Filipinos are reassessing their confidence in the country’s top leaders.”

SWS interviewed 1,500 Filipinos from Sept. 24 to 30 for the poll, which had an error margin of ±3 points.

Mr. Marcos spotlighted a flood control scandal involving billions worth of pesos during his July state of the nation address, bringing the issue to the public that has sparked a political fallout for his administration.

The controversy gripped the flood-prone country, fueling street protests, exposing cracks within the political establishment and has dimmed economic outlook.

Authorities have since formed a fact-finding body to investigate anomalous flood control deals that has summoned key political figures including a former Speaker, senators, congressmen and the government’s Budget secretary.

But the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) has opted to hold its hearings behind closed doors, compared with earlier televised congressional inquiries that brought the issue into limelight.

“When people see decisive, transparent action on the issues affecting their daily lives, confidence follows,” Mr. Manhit said. “When they don’t, it erodes, no matter how popular the leader once was.”

Palace Press Officer Clarissa A. Castro said the President is unfazed by survey figures, citing his priority remains delivering public service.

Mr. Marcos’ trust ratings have fluctuated since February (43%), coinciding with Ms. Duterte’s impeachment. Support fell to its lowest so far this year in April (36%), when ex-President Rodrigo R. Duterte was flown to The Hague to face crimes against humanity charges before the International Criminal Court.

“President Marcos is clearly seen as someone who is genuinely working and fighting against corruption,” Ms. Castro told reporters in a Viber message in Filipino. “He remains relentless in his efforts to improve the lives of every Filipino, even amid the challenges brought by natural disasters.”

While the administration’s anti-corruption drive is commendable, “the public no longer rewards words, they demand results,” Ederson DT. Tapia, a political science professor at the University of Makati, said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

“Exposing wrongdoing is one thing; ensuring full accountability is another,” he said. “Unless investigations lead to actual prosecution and convictions, reforms and cleaner systems, the public will see this as political theater.”

“Right now, both the President and the Vice-President are losing the moral high ground… They want leaders who face scrutiny, not those who hide behind it,” he added.

In a separate poll, nine of 10 Filipinos think there is collusion among politicians, contractors and other officials to defraud infrastructure funds, though opinions remain split on whether the government could be trusted to resolve the issue.

About 56% of respondents said they were uncertain whether they could trust the ICI in solving the corruption scandal, according to a noncommissioned Pulse Asia Research, Inc. survey released on Wednesday.

“In governance, credibility is earned not by revelation but by resolution,” Mr. Tapia said.

Only two of 10 Filipinos said they trust the fact-finding body, while 21% expressed distrust, according to a poll of 1,200 respondents from Sept. 27-30, with an error margin of ±2.8 points.

About 45% of Filipinos said they do not trust Mr. Marcos to resolve the flood control scandal, while only 32% expressed trust and 23% remained undecided, showing widespread skepticism over the administration’s handling of the issue.

The poll showed that about seven of 10 Filipinos think government officials linked to the flood control projects will be held accountable. “[This is] an opinion shared by huge majorities across areas and classes,” Pulse Asia said.

MOST Filipinos view the US as the Philippines’ most dependable ally in managing tensions with China in the South China Sea, a commissioned poll showed on Wednesday, amid growing concerns over Beijing’s increasingly assertive maritime claims.

About 77% of respondents said the US is the “top country capable of helping the Philippines manage Chinese provocations and safeguard its maritime rights,” according to nongovernment group We Protect our Seas (WPS), which commissioned Pulse Asia Research, Inc. to conduct the survey.

The pollster interviewed 1,200 Filipinos on Sept. 27-30 for the survey, which had a ±2.8% error margin.

Trust in Washington as a security ally led across all major island groups, with support highest in Metro Manila at 82%, followed by Luzon (81%), the Visayas (77%) and Mindanao (65%).

“The result reflects the enduring strength of the Philippine-US alliance and widespread public confidence in Washington’s role in maintaining regional stability and upholding international law in the South China Sea,” WPS said in a statement.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately reply to a Viber message seeking comment.

Manila and Washington maintain a defense partnership anchored on a 1950s Mutual Defense Treaty that binds both to defend one another in case of an armed attack.

Relations between the Philippines and the US have strengthened under President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., whose administration has taken a tougher stance against China’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea.

He expanded the number of sites for joint military use with Washington, including bases near strategic flashpoints in the contested waterway and close to Taiwan.

Beijing claims nearly all of the South China Sea via a U-shaped, 1940s nine-dash line map that overlaps with the exclusive waters of the Philippines and neighbors like Vietnam and Malaysia despite a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague that voided its claims.

China refuses to recognize the ruling and has continued to deploy an armada of vessels in the disputed waters, leading to maritime confrontations with Manila.

The poll showed that 45% of Filipinos trust Japan, ranking it second after the US. Australia followed at 30%, then Canada (29%) and the UK (25%).

Other countries cited in the poll include South Korea, trusted by 22% of respondents, followed by Germany (17%), France (10%) and India (3%).

The group said the results suggest that the public is aware of the Philippines’ growing security partnerships with the countries in the South China Sea, reflecting support for a multilateral approach to regional stability.

“The survey underscores that Filipinos clearly recognize the importance of working with like-minded democracies to defend the country’s sovereign rights and sustain a rules-based maritime order,” WPS President Jeffrey Ordaniel said in the statement.

“Strong public confidence in the United States — our sole  treaty ally — and the favorable perception towards partners such as Japan, Australia and Canada demonstrate a deepening awareness that international cooperation, credible deterrence and transparency — not silence or appeasement — are vital to countering Beijing’s aggression and coercive activities in the West Philippine Sea,” he added, referring to parts of the waterway within Manila’s 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone. 

The Philippines, already bound by military agreements with the US, Japan and Australia, is pursuing closer security ties with other nations amid boiling tensions with Beijing over disputed features in the South China Sea.

TRANSPARENCY DRIVE
Meanwhile, about nine of 10 Filipinos expressed support for state efforts to publicize China’s actions in the strategic waterway that Manila has described as coercive and aggressive, according to a separate commissioned Pulse Asia survey by WPS.

About 94% of the respondents said the Philippines should continue transparency in the South China Sea, where confrontations between Philippine and Chinese vessels frequently occur — largely due to actions attributed to Beijing.

China has said its actions are aimed at upholding its sovereignty in the disputed waters. The poll had an error margin of ±2.5 points.

“This near-universal support underscores the public’s firm backing for the government’s approach of transparency and factual reporting on maritime incidents in defense of the country’s sovereignty, sovereign rights and other maritime interests in the South China Sea,” WPS said in a separate statement.

Manila has pursued a transparency policy in the disputed waters, routinely disclosing maritime incidents with China, including the presence of Chinese vessels in contested features claimed by both countries, as part of efforts to raise public awareness.

“Exposing China’s bad behavior at sea serves important purposes: first, it demonstrates nonacquiescence to Beijing’s unlawful claims, preventing any claim that the People’s Republic of China has effective control over certain maritime spaces or offshore territories,” Mr. Ordaniel said. “Second, it rallies global public opinion against the use of coercion and force to press claims, making it easier for Philippine allies and partners to pressure China.”

“After all, if the Philippines was silent in the face of Chinese bullying, why should its allies and partners even say something about it?” — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio