Senate Trust Dips, House Gains in Philippine Poll

THE Senate’s trust and satisfaction ratings declined in the second quarter, while the House of Representatives saw its ratings climbed, an OCTA Research survey showed. The second-quarter nationwide survey, conducted from July 4-11, found national trust in the Senate slipped to 41% from 44% in the first quarter; while public satisfaction with its performance declined to 38% from 42%. In contrast, trust and satisfaction in the House of Representatives improved to 38% from 36% and to 37% from 35%, respectively. “The Senate’s declining trust and satisfaction ratings, alongside the House’s improving ratings over the same period, are consistent with an institutional-attention effect, in which sustained media coverage of one chamber’s proceedings can shape how the public evaluates that chamber specifically, independent of its underlying legislative record,” the OCTA report read. More Filipinos expressed distrust and dissatisfaction with the Senate, as distrust rose to 27% from 24% and dissatisfaction to 32% from 27% in the previous quarter. The survey also found that about 32% and 30% of respondents are undecided on trust and satisfaction, respectively. Trust rating in the Senate is highest in Balance Luzon at 44%, followed by Visayas and Mindanao at 43% each. Fewer Filipinos distrust and were dissatisfied with the House of Representatives, with distrust falling to 28% from 33% and dissatisfaction to 32% from 35%. Public opinion on the chamber, however, remains mixed, with 33% undecided on trust and 31% others undecided on satisfaction. Meanwhile, the chamber recorded the highest trust in Visayas at 42%, followed by Balance Luzon at 40%, Mindanao at 37%, and NCR at 29%, while its distrust rating, which stands at 28% nationwide, peaks in the NCR at 47%. The nationwide Tugon ng Masa survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adult respondents, with a ±3% margin of error. — Kaela Patricia B. Gabriel