Public trust

As we welcome the New Year, it is timely to reflect on the meaning and implications of recent survey results on the public mood.

- DR. JUN YNARES

We received a good number of inquiries from colleagues in the local government sector, as well as from our readers, concerning a couple of recent surveys conducted by the Social Weather Station (SWS).One survey came up with findings that the job approval and trust rating of the President had taken a nosedive. Our colleagues and readers wanted to find out what we thought about the SWS report, saying that the President's net trust rating was at an all-time low of - 3 percent nationwide.

A second, separate SWS survey focused on the public's overall outlook for the New Year. It indicated that the percentage of Filipinos who began 2026 with hope was at its lowest since 2009.

According to the first SWS poll, the President's trust ratings weakened across most regions in November last year. In Metro Manila, it stood at -8; -7 in the Visayas region; and -37 in the Mindanao region.