MANILA - (2ND UPDATE) President Rodrigo Duterte capped 2018 with higher approval and trust ratings, while House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo suffered from low scores, a recent Pulse Asia survey showed.

Duterte received an 81 percent approval rating in a survey conducted between December 14 and 21, up 6 percentage points from his 75 percent mark in September 2018.

The President's trust rating in the last month of 2018 was at 76 percent, 4 percentage points higher than his score in the third quarter.

Duterte, the country's first Mindanaoan president, received almost perfect scores in Mindanao, while his lowest trust and approval ratings came from the National Capital Region.

Speaking to ANC on Friday, political analyst Ranjit Rye said the improvement in Duterte's approval and trust rating may be attributed to his programs that have started to "kick in."

"People are now reckoning what the President has promised and what has he actually achieved," he said.

"To sustain this high popularity and trust ratings would require implementation of programs and better roll out of services which the President has continued to promise," he added.

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Rye noted that Duterte's high approval and trust ratings are "surprising" given that the President is going in to his third year.

"This is quite startling for those in the opposition who are hoping that his approval and trust rating would take a nosedive by the end of the year (2018)," he said.

"Apparently, a lot of Filipinos still like [him]," he added.

Vice President Leni Robredo's and Senate President Vicente Sotto III's approval ratings meanwhile increased by 1 percentage point to 62 percent and 74 percent, respectively.

Robredo's and Sotto's both sustained their trust scores at 56 percent and 66 percent, respectively.

"Senate President Sotto enjoys an increase in his trust score in the
rest of Luzon but Vice-President Robredo’s own rating declines in the Visayas," Pulse Asia said.

A spokesperson for Robredo said the survey results would serve as an inspiration for the vice president.

"Muli itong magsisilbing inspirasyon na lalong pagbutihin ang paglilingkod at pagbibigay boses sa ating mga kapwa Pilipino, lalo na doon sa mga nasa laylayan ng lipunan," lawyer Barry Gutierrez III said in a statement.

(This will again serve as ain inspiration to improve our public service and give a voice to our fellow Filipinos, especially the marginalized ones.)

House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo received a low performance approval score of 27 percent, while trust in the former president-turned-lawmaker climbed 2 percentage points to 21 percent.

"The only majority figure obtained by the House Speaker is her 52% distrust rating in Metro Manila," the survey read.

"The rest of Luzon, the Visayas and Class D are critical of and distrust House Speaker Macapagal-Arroyo," it said.

It was the first time for Arroyo to be included in the survey after taking over as Speaker last July.

Despite Arroyo's low scores, performance approval and trust for the House of Representatives was high at 66 percent and 64 percent, respectively.

The Senate, which failed to pass the 2019 budget before it adjourned for the Christmas holidays scored a 69 percent performance approval and a 65 percent trust rating.

The Supreme Court, which had several a leadership changes in 2018, obtained a 64 percent approval rating, and a 62 percent trust score.

Among the key developments in days leading up to the survey were the graft conviction of former first lady Imelda Marcos, the conviction of 3 policemen tagged in the killing of teenager Kian Delos Santos, the graft acquittal of former Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr., the failure of Congress to pass the 2019 national budget, and the state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping.