Nearly 60% pessimistic about 2026 — survey

MOST FILIPINOS remain pessimistic about the country’s direction as 2026 approaches, a new survey showed on Monday, underscoring persistent concerns over governance and political leadership even as economic expectations show signs of improvement.

Almost six in 10 voters, or 58%, said they are pessimistic about the state of the nation, according to a year-end survey by PAHAYAG.

While this marked an improvement from 70% in the previous quarter, it is still well above the 49% recorded a year earlier, suggesting that negative sentiment continues to outweigh optimism.

Optimism rose to 42%, up from 30% in the prior quarter, but remains below last year’s 51%.

The rebound was largely driven by more favorable views on the economy and household finances, which are tempering the impact of ongoing political and governance concerns.

Despite improving economic expectations, perceptions of the country’s overall condition deteriorated, with 24% of respondents describing the state of the nation as strong, down from 27% in the third quarter. Nearly half of respondents (49%) said it is weak, rising from 45%.

The country has had a lackluster third quarter growth, its slowest in four years, due to a massive graft scandal exposed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. last July.

Gross domestic product grew by 4% in the third quarter from a year earlier, data from the local statistics bureau showed in November.

Meanwhile, the new survey showed just 31% of Filipinos believe the country is headed in the right direction, compared with 33% previously — the weakest readings since the survey began tracking these indicators.

“The disconnect points instead to a deepening erosion of public trust, fueled by unresolved corruption controversies, weak accountability among top officials, and uncertainty over political leadership,” the survey read.

“These governance issues continue to undermine confidence despite improving economic signals.”

The survey also suggested that pessimism is not rooted in near-term economic fears. About 37% of respondents expect the national economy to improve in the next quarter, while 55% anticipate better household financial conditions.

Economic managers had earlier expressed pessimism the country would reach its 5.5% to 6.5% growth target for 2025 but the Presidential Palace vowed to ramp up state spending in the last quarter of the year to lift the economy.

Pessimism was most pronounced in the Visayas and Mindanao, among younger voters aged 18 to 20, high-income earners, government workers, non-overseas Filipino worker households, and respondents with either no formal education or a college background.

By contrast, South Luzon and parts of the Visayas posted the highest levels of optimism for economic and household prospects in the first quarter of 2026, highlighting a widening gap between expectations for personal finances and confidence in national leadership.

The survey was conducted from Dec. 7 to 10 among 1,500 registered voters nationwide.

PAHAYAG, a corporate social responsibility initiative of PUBLiCUS Asia, Inc., has tracked public opinion indicators since 2017, with Vox Opinion Research serving as its commissioned research arm. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana