64% of Filipinos say district representatives doing 'good job' -- OCTA

A significant 64% of Filipinos believe that their district representative is "doing a good job" in the House of Representatives, according to a recent survey by OCTA Research. Meanwhile, 27% disagree with this assessment, while 9% stated they do not know or cannot say. No respondents refused to answer the question. The "Tugon ng Masa" survey, conducted from July 4 to 11, revealed that the 64% positive assessment of local district representatives is notably higher than the 38% trust rating and 37% positive performance rating for the House of Representatives as an institution. The findings suggest that accountability in Philippine politics may operate more effectively, or at least more visibly, at the constituency level than at the institutional level, the research stated. This has implications beyond public opinion measurement, bearing on how legislators themselves may calculate political incentives, as a representative's standing with constituents appears largely decoupled from the public's broader assessment of Congress. It also offers a partial explanation for a familiar pattern in Philippine electoral behavior—the persistence of high incumbent reelection rates in individual districts alongside persistently low institutional trust in Congress as a whole. Geographically, the Visayas recorded the highest level of agreement at 68%, followed by Mindanao at 65%, Balance Luzon at 63%, and the National Capital Region at 60%. By socioeconomic class, positive assessments were highest among Class E at 72%, compared with 63% among Class D and 62% among Class ABC. Across age groups, satisfaction was highest among respondents aged 65 to 74 at 72%, followed by those aged 18 to 24 at 66% and those aged 35 to 44 at 65%. Agreement was lowest among respondents aged 25 to 34 and those aged 75 and above, both at 60%. Respondents aged 75 and above also recorded the largest proportion who say they do not know or cannot say, at 18%. On place and gender, 65% of rural respondents and 63% of urban respondents agreed that their district representative is doing a good job, while agreement stood at 64% among both males and females. By educational attainment, satisfaction was highest among respondents with no formal or elementary education at 67%, followed by high school and college or postgraduate respondents, both at 64%. Respondents with vocational education recorded the lowest level of agreement at 58% and the highest level of disagreement at 35%. The survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews among 1,200 respondents, aged 18 and above, with a ±3 percent margin of error and a 95 percent confidence level. — BAP, GMA News