4 in 5 Filipinos want VP Sara to attend trial

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

ILOILO CITY – More than four in five Filipinos believe it is important for Vice President Sara Duterte to personally attend her impeachment trial, according to a national survey released Tuesday by Momentum Research.

Only 13.6 percent of respondents think otherwise, the polling firm said.

The survey found that 44.3 percent of Filipinos consider the vice president’s personal attendance at the impeachment trial “extremely important,” while another 39 percent say it is “important.”

By contrast, 10.6 percent think her attendance is “unimportant” and 3 percent believe it is “extremely unimportant.”

Another 2.5 percent of respondents are unsure, while 0.6 percent declined to answer.

The findings come as the vice president remains absent from her own impeachment trial nearly a month after proceedings began, with only her legal counsel appearing on her behalf.

Majorities across all four geographic areas surveyed said her personal appearance matters.

The combined share of respondents who consider her attendance “important” or “extremely important” is highest in Metro Manila at 92.3 percent, followed by the Rest of Luzon at 87.3 percent and the Visayas at 85.1 percent.

Visayas respondents registered the highest share saying her attendance is “extremely important” at 49.2 percent, ahead of the Rest of Luzon at 48.4 percent, Metro Manila at 38.4 percent, and Mindanao at 35.5 percent.

Mindanao stands apart from the other areas, with 68.5 percent saying it is important for Duterte to personally attend the proceedings, the lowest share among the regions but still a clear majority.

Mindanao also posted the highest levels of dissent, with 20.5 percent calling her attendance “unimportant” and 6.8 percent “extremely unimportant.”

Political differences on the question are relatively limited, with at least seven in 10 respondents in each faction saying her personal attendance is important.

The proportion is highest among Pro-Opposition respondents at 93.2 percent, followed by Pro-Marcos respondents at 88 percent and Independents at 85.4 percent.

Pro-Opposition respondents also recorded the strongest single response, with 66.8 percent describing her attendance as “extremely important.”

Pro-Duterte respondents are the least likely among the factions to say it is important for the vice president to appear before the Senate impeachment court, although about three-quarters, or 75.3 percent, still say her attendance is either “important” or “extremely important.”

A total of 22.5 percent of Pro-Duterte respondents consider her attendance “unimportant” or “extremely unimportant,” the highest among all political factions, compared with roughly one in 10 in the other groups.

The poll is the inaugural issue of The National Momentum Survey, a non-commissioned study that covers perspectives, attitudes, and behaviors on government performance, the impeachment trial, and the 2028 national elections.

It was conducted from July 13 to 16 through face-to-face interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,438 Filipino adults.

The survey carries a national margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percent at a 95 percent confidence level.

Subnational margins of error are plus or minus 7 percent for the National Capital Region, plus or minus 4 percent for the Rest of Luzon covering North, South, and Central Luzon, plus or minus 6 percent for the Visayas, and plus or minus 5 percent for Mindanao, all at a 95 percent confidence level.

Momentum Research describes itself as a nonpartisan public opinion research firm that provides data and insights on attitudes and trends shaping Philippine politics and society.