Nearly 9 in 10 Filipinos approve of governors, mayors
By Francis Allan L. Angelo
MANILA — Nearly 9 in 10 Filipino adults rate their current governor’s performance positively, while 90.1% gave their mayor favorable marks, according to the August 2026 issue of The National Momentum Survey.
Momentum Research, which describes itself as a nonpartisan public opinion research firm, released the results Monday.
The non-commissioned survey, conducted Aug. 18 to 23, found that 69.7% of Filipino adults rate their governor’s performance as “good,” while 17.8% rate it “very good.”
Only 9% gave unfavorable ratings. Of that share, 7.7% rated their governor’s performance as “poor,” and 1.3% rated it “very poor.”
Another 1.8% said they were unsure how to rate their governor’s performance, while 0.4% said they were unfamiliar with their governor.
Figure 1. Performance approval: Governor
The governor question was based on 1,063 respondents and carries a margin of error of ±3.0% at a 95% confidence level. Metro Manila has no figures for this question because it has no governors.
Mayors received more positive ratings, with 64.7% of Filipino adults describing their mayor’s performance as “good” and 25.4% as “very good.”
Only 8.5% rated their mayor’s performance as “poor” (6.6%) or “very poor” (1.9%).
Figure 2. Performance approval: Mayor
The survey said this pattern of positive approval ratings is consistent across all regions, political factions, and generations.
Governor’s ratings across demographic groups
Visayas gave governors the highest approval at 90.9%, followed by the Rest of Luzon at 87.2% and Mindanao at 84.7%.
Disapproval is low across regions but highest in Mindanao at 11.5%, followed by the Rest of Luzon at 8.5% and Visayas at 7.6%.
Table 1. Performance approval: Governor (by region)
| Philippines (Aug. 2026) | Metro Manila | Rest of Luzon | Visayas | Mindanao | |
| Lubos na mahusay (very good) | 17.8% | – | 16.8% | 13.9% | 23.4% |
| Mahusay (good) | 69.7% | – | 70.4% | 77.0% | 61.3% |
| Hindi mahusay (poor) | 7.7% | – | 6.9% | 6.9% | 10.3% |
| Lubos na hindi mahusay (very poor) | 1.3% | – | 1.6% | 0.7% | 1.2% |
| Hindi kilala (unfamiliar) | 0.4% | – | 0.6% | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| Hindi alam o hindi sigurado/Tumangging sumagot (unsure or refused to answer) | 3.1% | – | 3.6% | 1.3% | 3.8% |
Among political factions, Pro-Marcos Filipino adults are the most satisfied with their governor’s performance at 90.8%. That compares with 87.2% among Pro-Opposition respondents and 87% each among Pro-Duterte respondents and Independents.
Momentum Research defines Pro-Opposition as Filipino adults who align themselves with former Vice President Leni Robredo, Sen. Risa Hontiveros, Sen. Bam Aquino, and their allies.
Table 2. Performance approval: Governor (by faction)
| Philippines (Aug. 2026) | Pro-Marcos | Pro-Duterte | Pro-Opposition | Independent | |
| Lubos na mahusay (very good) | 17.8% | 15.7% | 20.8% | 18.5% | 17.9% |
| Mahusay (good) | 69.7% | 75.1% | 66.2% | 68.7% | 69.1% |
| Hindi mahusay (poor) | 7.7% | 6.3% | 9.3% | 9.9% | 7.4% |
| Lubos na hindi mahusay (very poor) | 1.3% | 0.0% | 1.2% | 0.0% | 1.1% |
| Hindi kilala (unfamiliar) | 0.4% | 0.0% | 0.5% | 0.0% | 0.5% |
| Hindi alam o hindi sigurado (unsure) | 3.1% | 2.7% | 2.2% | 2.9% | 4.1% |
The difference across generations is small. Approval of governors is highest among Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation at 89%, followed by Gen Z at 87.7%, Millennials at 86.9%, and Gen X at 86.8%.
Table 3. Performance approval: Governor (by generation)
| Philippines (Aug. 2026) | Gen Z (n=314) | Millennial (n=411) | Gen X (n=429) | Baby Boomers & Silent Gen (n=283) | |
| Lubos na mahusay (very good) | 17.8% | 17.7% | 16.2% | 15.8% | 24.5% |
| Mahusay (good) | 69.7% | 70.0% | 70.7% | 71.0% | 64.5% |
| Hindi mahusay (poor) | 7.7% | 7.6% | 7.6% | 7.1% | 9.2% |
| Lubos na hindi mahusay (very poor) | 1.3% | 0.0% | 2.7% | 1.7% | 0.4% |
| Hindi kilala (unfamiliar) | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.6% | 0.2% | 0.0% |
| Hindi alam o hindi sigurado/Tumangging sumagot (unsure or refused to answer) | 3.1% | 4.3% | 2.2% | 4.2% | 1.4% |
Mayor’s ratings across demographic groups
Filipino adults from the Rest of Luzon gave their mayors the highest approval rating at 91.6%. Mindanao followed at 90.1%, then the Visayas at 89.7% and Metro Manila at 85.7%.
Table 4. Performance approval: Mayor (by region)
| Philippines (Aug. 2026) | Metro Manila | Rest of Luzon | Visayas | Mindanao | |
| Lubos na mahusay (very good) | 25.4% | 28.1% | 20.1% | 21.5% | 37.7% |
| Mahusay (good) | 64.7% | 57.6% | 71.5% | 68.2% | 52.4% |
| Hindi mahusay (poor) | 6.6% | 14.0% | 4.1% | 6.7% | 7.1% |
| Lubos na hindi mahusay (very poor) | 1.9% | 0.0% | 2.3% | 2.4% | 1.7% |
| Hindi kilala (unfamiliar) | 0.4% | 0.0% | 0.5% | 0.0% | 0.8% |
| Hindi alam o hindi sigurado/Tumangging sumagot (unsure or refused to answer) | 1.0% | 0.2% | 1.5% | 1.2% | 0.4% |
Approval of mayors also remains overwhelmingly positive along political lines. Pro-Marcos Filipino adults gave the highest rating at 92.6%, followed by Independents at 91.7%, Pro-Opposition respondents at 88.8%, and Pro-Duterte respondents at 88.1%.
Disapproval is also low across factions, peaking at 10.3% among Pro-Duterte Filipino adults. Pro-Opposition respondents followed at 9.2%, then Pro-Marcos respondents at 7.5% and Independents at 6.9%.
Table 5. Performance approval: Mayor (by faction)
| Philippines (Aug. 2026) | Pro-Marcos | Pro-Duterte | Pro-Opposition | Independent | |
| Lubos na mahusay (very good) | 25.4% | 26.4% | 30.9% | 20.5% | 23.3% |
| Mahusay (good) | 64.7% | 66.2% | 57.2% | 68.3% | 68.4% |
| Hindi mahusay (poor) | 6.6% | 4.6% | 8.0% | 9.2% | 5.7% |
| Lubos na hindi mahusay (very poor) | 1.9% | 2.9% | 2.3% | 0.0% | 1.2% |
| Hindi kilala (unfamiliar) | 0.4% | 0.0% | 0.9% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| Hindi alam o hindi sigurado (unsure) | 1.0% | 0.0% | 0.6% | 1.9% | 1.4% |
Mayors likewise received positive ratings across all generations. Gen X respondents gave the highest approval rating at 93.1%, followed by Millennials at 89.8%, Baby Boomers at 89.6%, and Gen Z at 88.6%.
Table 6. Performance approval: Mayor (by generation)
| Philippines (Aug. 2026) | Gen Z (n=314) | Millennial (n=411) | Gen X (n=429) | Baby Boomers & Silent Gen (n=283) | |
| Lubos na mahusay (very good) | 25.4% | 23.1% | 29.7% | 27.9% | 16.4% |
| Mahusay (good) | 64.7% | 65.5% | 60.1% | 65.2% | 73.2% |
| Hindi mahusay (poor) | 6.6% | 8.8% | 6.1% | 4.2% | 6.2% |
| Lubos na hindi mahusay (very poor) | 1.9% | 0.6% | 3.4% | 0.6% | 3.3% |
| Hindi kilala (unfamiliar) | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.7% | 0.4% | 0.1% |
| Hindi alam o hindi sigurado/Tumangging sumagot (unsure or refused to answer) | 1.0% | 1.7% | 0.0% | 1.7% | 0.9% |
The 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% 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.
Margins of error are larger for disaggregated estimates, particularly for groups with smaller sample sizes.
The complete survey results are available on Momentum Research’s public dashboard at momentumresearch.ph.
Comments (0)
LEAVE A REPLY
No comments yet
Be the first to share your thoughts!
Related Articles
MORE Power named Apex Company of the Year at 17th Asia CEO Awards
MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power), the distribution utility serving Iloilo City and parts of Iloilo province, was named grand winner of the Apex Company of the Year award at the 17th Asia CEO Awards 2026, held at the Manila Marriott Hotel on October 13. MORE Power was chosen from nine Circle of Excellence
ELCAC AUDIT: Roads, water systems, farm centers in Iloilo worth PHP 73.8M left hanging
ILOILO CITY — State auditors flagged 29 anti-insurgency infrastructure projects of the Iloilo provincial government, with an estimated completion cost of PHP 73.892 million, for remaining unfinished or nonoperational. The projects are funded under the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and the Local Government Support Fund–Support
Iloilo City eyes PHP 4.8-billion budget, more health aid
ILOILO CITY — The city government has proposed a PHP 4.8 billion budget for 2027, with funding prioritized to enhance health care access, expand educational support, and strengthen social welfare initiatives. The proposed budget is 6.67 percent higher than the PHP 4.5 billion budget for 2026. Mayor Raisa Treñas-Chu said the