MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte maintained his "excellent" trust rating in the fourth quarter, with 81 percent of adult Filipinos saying they have "much trust" in the President, the latest Social Weather Stations survey showed Thursday.

The survey, conducted last December 3-6 via face-to-face interviews with 1,500 adults nationwide, showed 81% of adult Filipinos with "much trust" in Mr. Duterte, nine percent with “little trust” and 10% “undecided."

This translated to a net trust rating of +72, which is four points less than the “excellent” +76 Duterte got in the last survey.

The results of the SWS survey were first published in BusinessWorld. The survey has sampling error margins of ±3 points for national percentages, ±4 for “Balance Luzon” as well as ±6 points each for Metro Manila, the Visayas and Mindanao.

SWS noted Duterte’s trust rating in Metro Manila dropped by 11 points from September’s “excellent” +76 to a “very good” +65 in December.

It also fell by a grade and four points in the Visayas to a “very good”+69 in December from an “excellent” +73 in September.

Duterte's trust rating in Mindanao stayed “excellent” but slipped seven points to +85 in December from September’s +92.

His rating in Balance Luzon steadied at a “very good” +69 in December from September.

Among socioeconomic classes, Duterte's trust rating score was excellent in classes “D” and “E.”

Respondents belonging to class “D,” however, gave him a +78 rating that was five points down from September’s +73, while the score among those in “E” rose one grade and five points to +72 from a “very good” +67 in September.

Meanwhile, net trust rating from “ABC” respondents dropped one grade and 13 points to a “very good” +59 in December from September’s “excellent” +72.

In a statement, Presidential Communications Office head Secretary Martin Andanar thanked the Filipino people for their continued trust on the President, adding that Duterte's trust rating has been excellent in the last three surveys.

"The result of the SWS survey was a testament that our people continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the President's agenda of getting rid the society of illegal drugs, crime, and corruption. This gives him and members of his team to pursue with greater resolve the Administration's goal of a Philippines free from the drug scourge, crime incidents, and malfeasance in public service," he said.