Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense counsel on Friday brushed off recent public opinion poll results, reiterating that their focus remains strictly on her ongoing impeachment trial rather than political debates.
Addressing statements from Malacañang suggesting that an OCTA Research survey reflected public disapproval of the Vice President, defense team spokesperson Atty. Michael Poa clarified that survey scores carry no weight in their legal strategy.
“There are other surveys that came out yesterday… it shows that the rating of our Vice President is high,” Poa said.
Poa emphasized that survey outcomes largely depend on the specific phrasing of the questions and should not be viewed as definitive.
“We’re not too reliant on surveys… We’ll look at what questions were asked,” he noted.
He further shared that Duterte herself directed the defense panel to disregard political noise and concentrate solely on their proceedings before the Senate impeachment court.
“The Vice President also told me not to really look into the political anymore. We just focus on our legal work,” Poa added.
The remarks follow Malacañang’s assertion that Duterte’s drop in OCTA’s July 4–11 survey—where her trust rating fell from 55% to 47% and performance fell from 50% to 45%—showed a rejection of her impeachment defense narrative.
Meanwhile, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. also saw declines in the same survey, with his trust score dipping to 49% and performance falling to 47%.
Conversely, a separate SWS survey revealed a rise in Duterte’s standing, posting a 58% satisfaction rate that brought her net satisfaction score up to a “good” +31.
The Senate impeachment court is currently trying Article I of the complaint, which centers on allegations that Duterte misused confidential funds during her time as Vice President and Education Secretary.