Marcos net approval remains negative as Duterte’s stays positive

MANILA — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. remained in negative net approval territory in August while Vice President Sara Duterte stayed in positive territory, according to The National Momentum Survey conducted by Momentum Research.

Momentum Research said the performance approval ratings of the two officials barely changed from July to August.

The firm said the difference between the president’s and vice president’s approval ratings mostly varied by political factions, regions, and generations.

The non-commissioned survey, conducted from Aug. 18 to 23, asked Filipino adults nationwide whether they found the president’s and vice president’s performance “good,” “very good,” “poor,” or “very poor.”

The firm’s data tables show the question was worded in Filipino, with answer choices running from lubos na mahusay (very good) to lubos na hindi mahusay (very poor).

In English, the firm’s charts word the question as whether respondents approve or disapprove of the official’s performance in fulfilling the duties of the office.

The survey found that a majority of Filipino adults, or 57.4%, are still dissatisfied with the president’s performance.

Only 38.5% are generally satisfied, resulting in a net approval of -18.9 percentage points for Marcos.

The opposite can be observed for the vice president, with 61.3% of Filipinos approving of her performance and 31.8% disapproving, leaving a net approval of +29.5 percentage points.

A separate chart and the data tables released by the firm, however, put Duterte’s August figures at 61.4% approval, 31.7% disapproval, and +29.7 percentage points in net approval.

Figure 1. Marcos’ and Duterte’s net performance approval ratings (August) (Momentum Research)

Net approval is the difference between the share of Filipino adults who approve and the share who disapprove of a public official’s performance.

A positive net approval means more Filipino adults rate the official’s performance as “good” or “very good,” while a negative net approval means more rate it as “poor” or “very poor.”

How the ratings moved since July

Marcos’ approval stood at 40.7% in July against 54.6% disapproval, for a net approval of -13.9 percentage points, the firm’s chart shows.

Duterte’s approval stood at 58.0% in July against 36.4% disapproval, for a net approval of +21.6 percentage points, the chart shows.

The July round was conducted from July 13 to 16 among 1,438 respondents, according to the vice president’s chart.

A comparison of the firm’s own July and August chart figures shows Marcos’ net approval down 5.0 percentage points and Duterte’s up 8.1 percentage points.

The materials released do not say whether those month-to-month changes are statistically significant or give a margin of error for the July round.

Who approves of Marcos’ performance?

Across most demographic groups, Filipino adults disapprove of Marcos’ performance.

However, older generations are more likely to say the president is doing a good job in fulfilling his duties.

About half of Gen X Filipinos, or 51.6%, say they are satisfied with Marcos’ performance, for a net approval of +8.6 percentage points.

His net approval is even higher among baby boomers and the Silent Generation, at +16.5 percentage points.

Figure 2. Marcos’ net approval ratings across demographic groups (Momentum Research)

Filipino adults who identify themselves as Pro-Marcos also give the president high approval, with a net approval of +62.7 percentage points.

Only 18.6% of this group disapprove, the lowest share among all subgroups.

Net approval, on the other hand, is lowest among Gen Z, Pro-Duterte, middle-income, and LGBTQIA+ Filipinos, as well as those in Mindanao, falling below -40 percentage points in each of these demographic subgroups.

Filipino adults in the Rest of Luzon are more divided on Marcos’ performance as president.

Roughly 48.7% in the region approve of his performance while 46.3% disapprove, resulting in a net approval of only +2.4 percentage points.

 

Who approves of Duterte’s performance?

The vice president largely received high approval from most demographic subgroups.

Only a few lean toward disapproval or are split on whether she is performing her duties well or poorly.

Her highest net ratings come from millennials at +51.1 percentage points, Pro-Duterte Filipinos at +86.9 percentage points, and those with no formal education at +59.6 percentage points or only some or completed elementary education at +51.2 percentage points.

Figure 3. Duterte’s net approval ratings across demographic groups (Momentum Research)

Among regional areas, Mindanao is the most satisfied with Duterte’s performance, at 87.3%.

Only 7.9% in the region disapprove of her performance as vice president, resulting in a net approval of +79.4 percentage points.

Meanwhile, disapproval is highest among Filipino adults who align themselves with her family’s political rivals.

Momentum Research defines Pro-Opposition Filipino adults as those who align themselves with former Vice President Leni Robredo, Sen. Risa Hontiveros, Sen. Bam Aquino, and their allies.

Pro-Opposition Filipino adults gave Duterte the lowest approval of any subgroup, at 33.7%, for a net of -28.9 percentage points.

Among Pro-Marcos Filipino adults, Duterte’s net approval is -12 percentage points, indicating that more from this group find her performance poor than good.

Political backdrop

The two officials, who are elected separately under the Philippine Constitution, now hold ratings that point in opposite directions as the vice president’s impeachment trial proceeds in the Senate.

Momentum Research said the ratings were measured against the backdrop of the flood control corruption scandal, rising prices of basic goods and fuel, the proposed Pax Silica hub, the postponement of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, and Duterte’s ongoing impeachment trial.

The flood control scandal, which surfaced in 2025, led Marcos to order an investigation, and the Anti-Money Laundering Council had frozen PHP 24.7 billion in assets of alleged corrupt officials as of January 2026.

Marcos called the proposed Pax Silica Industrial Hub, a project under the U.S.-led Pax Silica Initiative, the centerpiece of the country’s push for an AI-driven economy in his State of the Nation Address on July 27, 2026, the Philippine Star reported.

Weeks after the survey fieldwork, the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, ruled on Sept. 23 that the two-thirds vote needed to convict Duterte would be computed from the senators able to take part in the vote, and the Supreme Court dismissed separate petitions against that ruling on Sept. 30 on procedural grounds, the Philippine Star reported.

The Palace announced on Sept. 25, a month after the fieldwork, that Marcos had signed a law moving the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections from Nov. 2, 2026, to the first Monday of November 2028 and extending village officials’ terms from four years to five.

How the survey was conducted

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 plus or minus 2.5 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

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

The complete survey results are available on the firm’s public dashboard at momentumresearch.ph.

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