Confidential fund charge most recognized vs VP Sara – survey

Nearly 2 in 5 Filipino adults (38.7%) identified the alleged misuse of confidential and intelligence funds as a charge against Vice President Sara Duterte.

However, nearly as many (35.3%) could not identify any of the impeachment charges, the August 2026 National Momentum Survey found.

About 1 in 3 Filipinos remain unaware of any impeachment charges, Momentum Research said in a press release dated Oct. 6.

The non-commissioned survey specifically asked Filipino adults to name at least one of the impeachment charges the vice president is facing.

It found that Filipinos are more aware of the alleged confidential fund misuse than any other allegation.

Awareness of the other three charges is considerably lower, especially for unexplained wealth (6.7%), followed by the alleged bribery involving Department of Education (DepEd) personnel (13.3%) and grave threats (14.6%).

While opinion is divided, this aligns with another finding that more Filipinos find the alleged misuse of confidential funds credible (28.2%) than any other charge.

Meanwhile, 15.5% find the alleged grave threats credible, followed by unexplained wealth (12.1%) and bribery (7.7%).

Another 20.5% say none of the charges are credible.

Another 12% are unsure about the credibility of the allegations, while 4% declined to answer.

The survey was conducted while the prosecution presented evidence and witness testimony on Article I, or the alleged confidential funds, before the Senate impeachment court.

The House of Representatives first impeached Duterte in February 2025, but the Supreme Court unanimously declared that complaint unconstitutional in July 2025, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer and GMA News.

The House impeached her a second time on May 11, 2026, with 257 lawmakers approving the Articles of Impeachment, and the Senate impeachment court began the trial on July 6, the Inquirer and GMA News reported.

Article I accuses Duterte of misusing PHP 612.5 million in confidential funds received by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and DepEd from 2022 to 2023, The Philippine Star reported.

Momentum Research noted that the alleged misuse of confidential funds by the OVP and DepEd first came under congressional scrutiny in 2024, when it received relatively more attention.

Succeeding investigations raised questions about their liquidation, including acknowledgment receipts bearing names such as “Mary Grace Piattos.”

Allegations involving death threats and unexplained wealth emerged later and were further examined during the justice committee’s hearings on the second set of impeachment complaints.

The awareness and perceived credibility of the impeachment charges, however, could still change as the public hears more evidence on the alleged unexplained wealth and bribery.

Mindanao most likely to reject impeachment charges

The alleged misuse of confidential and intelligence funds ranks as the most recognized impeachment charge across regions, with awareness highest in Metro Manila at 44.6%, followed by Mindanao at 40.2%, the rest of Luzon at 38.8%, and Visayas at 32.5% (see Table 1).

Table 1. Public awareness of the charges against VP Sara (by region), in percent

Charge named	Philippines	Metro Manila	Rest of Luzon	Visayas	Mindanao
Anomalous spending of confidential and intelligence funds	38.7	44.6	38.8	32.5	40.2
No charge or article of impeachment mentioned	35.3	31.8	30.3	41.6	41.9
Attempt to kill the president and his kin (grave threats, assassination threats)	14.6	18.6	16.9	7.8	13.4
Bribery involving DepEd personnel	13.3	13.5	13.9	17.1	9.0
Unexplained wealth (ill-gotten wealth)	6.7	5.1	9.0	5.4	3.9

Source: Momentum Research, National Momentum Survey, Aug. 18–23, 2026; n=1,487.

Mindanao, which is Duterte’s political stronghold, is the region with the highest share of Filipino adults who do not believe any of the impeachment charges are credible (34.7%), followed by Metro Manila (23.7%), the rest of Luzon (15.6%), and Visayas (12.7%).

Mindanao also records the lowest share of respondents who consider the alleged misuse of confidential and intelligence funds credible (13.5%), well below the 34% in Metro Manila, 33.2% in the rest of Luzon, and 30% in Visayas (see Table 2).

Table 2. Credibility of the impeachment articles (by region), in percent

Response	Philippines	Metro Manila	Rest of Luzon	Visayas	Mindanao
Anomalous spending of confidential and intelligence funds	28.2	34.0	33.2	30.0	13.5
None of the charges is credible	20.5	23.7	15.6	12.7	34.7
Attempt to kill the president and his kin	15.5	20.2	16.2	17.3	10.1
Unexplained wealth (ill-gotten wealth)	12.1	13.9	11.8	12.3	11.5
Bribery involving DepEd personnel	7.7	2.0	8.2	13.0	5.9
Do not know / not sure	12.0	3.7	10.8	12.0	19.4
Declined to answer	4.0	2.5	4.4	2.7	4.9

Source: Momentum Research, National Momentum Survey, Aug. 18–23, 2026; n=1,487.

Pro-Opposition, Pro-Marcos more likely to find charges credible

The confidential fund allegations also top the charges that political groups are aware of, cited by 47.7% of Pro-Opposition, 40% of Pro-Marcos, 39.8% of Pro-Duterte, and 35.9% of Independents (see Table 3).

Table 3. Public awareness of the charges against VP Sara (by political group), in percent

Charge named	Philippines	Pro-Marcos	Pro-Duterte	Pro-Opposition	Independent
Anomalous spending of confidential and intelligence funds	38.7	40.0	39.8	47.7	35.9
No charge or article of impeachment mentioned	35.3	28.9	32.2	34.5	37.6
Attempt to kill the president and his kin (grave threats, assassination threats)	14.6	19.0	18.0	16.5	12.1
Bribery involving DepEd personnel	13.3	13.5	10.4	17.8	15.1
Unexplained wealth (ill-gotten wealth)	6.7	5.5	7.0	11.8	5.4

Source: Momentum Research, National Momentum Survey, Aug. 18–23, 2026; n=1,487.

In terms of credibility, 36.6% of Pro-Duterte Filipinos say that none of the charges against Duterte are credible, compared with Independents (17%), Pro-Opposition (9.3%), and Pro-Marcos (3.2%).

This pattern is also reflected in views on the alleged misuse of confidential funds, which only 17.9% of Pro-Duterte Filipinos consider credible, compared with 44.5% of Pro-Opposition respondents, 37.9% of Pro-Marcos respondents, and 30.4% of Independents (see Table 4).

Table 4. Credibility of the impeachment articles (by political group), in percent

Response	Philippines	Pro-Marcos	Pro-Duterte	Pro-Opposition	Independent
Anomalous spending of confidential and intelligence funds	28.2	37.9	17.9	44.5	30.4
None of the charges is credible	20.5	3.2	36.6	9.3	17.0
Attempt to kill the president and his kin	15.5	19.1	14.7	21.2	13.9
Unexplained wealth (ill-gotten wealth)	12.1	14.0	13.9	9.4	12.0
Bribery involving DepEd personnel	7.7	8.7	7.0	8.9	8.3
Do not know / not sure	12.0	13.7	8.7	2.4	13.1
Declined to answer	4.0	3.4	1.2	4.2	5.2

Source: Momentum Research, National Momentum Survey, Aug. 18–23, 2026; n=1,487.

Confidential fund charge most recognized by Gen Zs, while Millennials point to unexplained wealth

Across generations, Gen Z Filipinos record the highest awareness of confidential fund misuse at 43.4%, followed by 38.2% of Millennials, 36.4% of Baby Boomers, and 33.9% of Gen X (see Table 5).

Table 5. Public awareness of the charges against VP Sara (by generation), in percent

Charge named	Philippines	Gen Z (n=314)	Millennials (n=411)	Gen X (n=429)	Baby Boomer or Silent Generation (n=283)
Anomalous spending of confidential and intelligence funds	38.7	43.4	38.2	33.9	36.4
No charge or article of impeachment mentioned	35.3	32.1	34.7	39.9	36.9
Attempt to kill the president and his kin (grave threats, assassination threats)	14.6	11.5	16.8	12.8	19.6
Bribery involving DepEd personnel	13.3	14.5	13.0	14.6	9.4
Unexplained wealth (ill-gotten wealth)	6.7	6.0	9.2	4.9	4.3

Note: Margins of error are larger for disaggregated estimates, particularly for groups with smaller sample sizes.

Generational differences emerge in how Filipino adults assess the credibility of the impeachment charges.

Millennials register the highest share of Filipinos who say that none of the charges are credible (24.8%), compared with 23.5% of Baby Boomers, 17.7% of Gen X, and 16.4% of Gen Z (see Table 6).

Meanwhile, Gen Z Filipinos find the alleged misuse of confidential funds most credible (33.8%), followed by Gen X at 30.7%, Baby Boomers at 23.7%, and Millennials at 23.2%.

While only a minority of Filipinos find the unexplained wealth allegation credible, Millennials are more likely to identify it as credible at 16.3%, compared with 10.9% of Gen X, 9.8% of Gen Z, and 8.8% of Baby Boomers.

Baby Boomers record the highest share of Filipino adults who are unsure about the credibility of the allegations at 16.7%, followed by 14.4% of Gen X.

Table 6. Credibility of the impeachment articles (by generation), in percent

Response	Philippines	Gen Z (n=314)	Millennials (n=411)	Gen X (n=429)	Baby Boomer or Silent Generation (n=283)
Anomalous spending of confidential and intelligence funds	28.2	33.8	23.2	30.7	23.7
None of the charges is credible	20.5	16.4	24.8	17.7	23.5
Attempt to kill the president and his kin	15.5	14.3	17.1	14.4	16.1
Unexplained wealth (ill-gotten wealth)	12.1	9.8	16.3	10.9	8.8
Bribery involving DepEd personnel	7.7	11.6	5.6	7.1	5.1
Do not know / not sure	12.0	12.6	8.2	14.4	16.7
Declined to answer	4.0	1.6	4.8	4.8	6.2

Note: Margins of error are larger for disaggregated estimates, particularly for groups with smaller sample sizes.

Conducted from Aug. 18 to 23, the National Momentum Survey was carried out through face-to-face interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,487 Filipino adults.

It has a national margin of error of ±2.5 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

Subnational margins of error are ±6.9 percentage points for the National Capital Region, ±3.8 for the rest of Luzon (North, South, and Central Luzon), ±5.8 for Visayas, and ±5.5 for Mindanao, all at a 95% confidence level.

The complete survey results are available on the public dashboard of Momentum Research at momentumresearch.ph.

The National Momentum Survey is the flagship initiative of Momentum Research, a non-commissioned survey that captures Filipino public opinion on the country’s most pressing sociopolitical issues.

The August 2026 issue covers perspectives, attitudes, and behaviors on government performance, the impeachment trial, 2028 national elections voting intentions, and national issues (Pax Silica, systems loss, minimum wage, the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, and school-related violence).

Momentum Research claims to be a next-generation, nonpartisan public opinion research firm committed to understanding the Filipino: what they think, feel, and stand for.

Using rigorous and innovative research methodologies, the firm equips leaders in the public and private sectors with decision-ready data and insights on the attitudes and trends shaping Philippine politics and society.

Notices

• Conflicting figure (needs confirmation): The release text says 2.5% of Baby Boomers find none of the charges credible, but Table 6 shows 23.5%. I used 23.5% because the Baby Boomer column sums to 100.1% with it and to about 79% with 2.5%. Confirm with Momentum Research before publication.
• Sample sizes do not add up: The generational groups total 1,437 (314 + 411 + 429 + 283), against the 1,487 sample. Fifty respondents are unaccounted for.
• Table 6 title error: The release titles it “Public awareness,” but the data are credibility figures. I retitled it.
• Subgroup margins of error not stated: The release gives none for political or generational groups. My rough simple-random-sampling estimate for n = 283 to 429 is about ±4.7 to ±5.8 points, so smaller gaps (such as Millennials 16.3% vs. Gen X 10.9% on unexplained wealth) should be treated cautiously.
• “Most recognized across regions” is qualified: In Visayas (41.6%) and Mindanao (41.9%), the share who could not name any charge exceeded confidential fund recognition (32.5% and 40.2%). The claim holds only among named charges.
• Unattributed characterization: “Mindanao, which is Duterte’s political stronghold” comes from the release without attribution. Consider attributing or verifying.
• No quotes, caption, or byline: The release has no interviewee quotes, so none were preserved. The only quoted text is “Mary Grace Piattos,” retained as written. No photo or caption was provided. The byline is a placeholder. The media contact (Nathalie Diane Esteban) was omitted.
• Background not independently confirmed: The 2024 scrutiny, the liquidation questions, and the “second set of impeachment complaints” are attributed to Momentum Research. Sources differ on when the House transmitted the articles to the Senate (May 13 or May 14), so I omitted that date. The survey fieldwork (Aug. 18 to 23) is consistent with reports that the trial was still on Article I on Aug. 25.
• Translations are mine: Table labels were translated from Filipino and “By factional” became “by political group.” Please verify the wording.
• Tables stand in for the charts: Figures 1 and 2 are not reproduced; their national figures are in the first data column of Tables 1 and 2.
• Formatting: Per your instruction, only the headline is bold in the article, so the subheads are plain text. Margins of error were rendered as percentage points where the release used “%.” The Visayas figures are not broken out for Western Visayas, so a local angle would need separate sourcing.

Validation

• Passed: Every percentage in the release text, Figures 1 and 2, and Tables 1 to 6 appears in the draft. Headline is 10 words, sentence case. Paragraphs are single sentences, with no contractions and serial commas throughout. Only the headline is bold.
• Flagged, not resolved: The 2.5% vs. 23.5% conflict and the sample-size gap above.

Headline alternatives

• Hard news: Confidential fund misuse top-recognized charge against VP Sara, survey shows
• Hard news: Filipinos split on credibility of impeachment charges against VP Sara
• SEO: Sara Duterte impeachment charges: what Filipinos know, survey says
• SEO: 1 in 3 Filipinos cannot name any VP Sara charge
• Click-ready: Gen Z most aware of VP Sara confidential funds issue