MANILA - (UPDATED) President Rodrigo Duterte retained "big majority" approval and trust ratings despite criticisms of his war on drugs and allegations he misdeclared his wealth, according to a Pulse Asia survey released Friday.

The September 24 to 30 poll of 1,200 respondents showed 80 percent trust and approve of Duterte, Pulse Asia said in a statement. This compared to 81 percent trust and 82 percent approval in June, but the difference was within the 3-point error margin.

Vice President Leni Robredo scored majority approval and trust (57 and 55 percent, respectively), so did Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III (55 and 52 percent, respectively), the same survey showed.

On the other hand, big pluralities to near majorities were ambivalent concerning the work and trustworthiness of House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez (47 percent and 49 percent respectively) and Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno (43 percent and 44 percent, respectively).

Prior to the survey, Duterte threatened to create an independent commission to investigate corruption within the Office of the Ombudsman after the latter launched a fact-finding investigation into his alleged ill-gotten wealth.

• Duterte: Shoot me if my wealth is beyond P40-M

Also among the events leading up to the survey was the sacking of the entire Caloocan police after the deaths of several teenagers in its operations and the House of Representatives' move to slash the budget of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to P1,000.

REGIONAL, GEOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN

Duterte enjoyed majority approval ratings in all geographic areas and socio-economic classes, Pulse Asia noted.

The pollster said Robredo also enjoyed majority approval and
trust figures except in Metro Manila (49% and 47%, respectively) and the best-off Class ABC (48% and 45%, respectively).

Robredo also tallied a 13-point drop in her trust score in Luzon areas outside the capital, at 53 percent from 66 percent in June, Pulse Asia said.

"During the period June to September 2017, the performance and trust ratings of President Duterte and Vice-President Robredo remain virtually constant," the pollster noted.

"This observation holds true for the national ratings of both officials as well as those recorded in the different areas and classes. The only exception is the 13-percentage point drop in the trust rating of Vice-President Robredo in the rest of Luzon."

RATINGS DIP
Pimentel, Alvarez and Sereno meanwhile experienced "marked movements" in their own ratings, Pulse said.

Pimentel's national approval score was 7 percentage points lower than the 62 percent he logged in June, the survey showed.
As for Alvarez, his trust and approval scores were both 10 points lower than the 41 percent and 43 percent he got in June, respectively.

Sereno's overall trust ratings meanwhile was down 13 percentage points from 48 percent in June, while her trust rating dipped 12 percentage points from 43 percent the same month.

PULSE VS SWS

The Pulse Asia survey was released just days after a separate poll by the Social Weather Station, which saw double-digit declines in Duterte's satisfaction and trust ratings.

The SWS survey said net public satisfaction with Duterte plunged 18 points to +48 from +66 in June while his net trust rating fell 15 points to +60 from +75.

The poll tallied the biggest satisfaction rating decline among poorest Class E, who are mostly the victims of his anti-narcotics crackdown.

• From 'very good' to 'good': Duterte's net satisfaction rating drops 18 points, says SWS survey

The SWS survey asked respondents to "tell how satisfied or dissatisfied" they were with the President and "indicate if your trust/faith is Very much, Somewhat much, Undecided if much or little, Somewhat little, Very little, or You have not heard or read anything about [Duterte] ever?'

Pulse Asia meanwhile asked respondents to rate their satisfaction with and trust in Duterte and other top Philippine officials.

Other possible factors for the different results are the dates of the survey, sample size, and margin of error.

The SWS survey was from September 23 to 27.

The Pulse Asia survey was from September 24 to 30.

The SWS survey had a bigger sample size of 1,500 nationwide with a margin of error of plus/minus 2.5%.

The Pulse Asia survey had a sample size of 1,200 nationwide with a margin of error of plus/minus 3%.

Both surveys, however, were non-commissioned.