MANILA, PHILIPPINES — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s satisfaction rating among adult Filipinos declined in the third quarter of 2026, pulling his overall net satisfaction score from “neutral” to “poor,” according to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey released Thursday, October 8.
The survey, conducted from September 21 to 27, showed that 35% of respondents were satisfied with Marcos’ performance, while 20% were undecided and 46% were dissatisfied.
SWS said the latest figures represented a decline from June, when 38% expressed satisfaction, 17% were undecided, and 45% were dissatisfied.
“Compared to June 2026, gross satisfaction with President Marcos fell from 38 percent, gross undecided rose from 17 percent, and gross dissatisfaction hardly moved from 45 percent,” SWS said.
The figures resulted in a net satisfaction rating of -11, four points lower than the -7 recorded in June, which SWS classified as “neutral.”
“This is four points down from neutral -7 in June 2026, but remains above President Marcos’ personal record-low poor -15 in March 2026,” SWS said.
Marcos had previously received a “poor” net satisfaction rating in March, when satisfaction stood at 33%, compared with 18% who were undecided and 49% who were dissatisfied, producing a net score of -15.
SWS said the latest decline was driven by lower ratings in Balance Luzon, the Visayas, and Metro Manila, although these were partly offset by an improvement in Mindanao.
In Balance Luzon, the President’s net satisfaction score dropped from +11 in June to 0. The Visayas also saw a decline from -3 to -13, while Metro Manila slipped from -24 to -27. In contrast, Mindanao recorded an improvement from -35 to -21.
DECLINES AMONG URBAN RESIDENTS, MEN AND SOME AGE GROUPS
The survey also showed a widening gap between urban and rural respondents. Marcos’ net satisfaction rating among urban residents fell from -12 to -20, while his rating in rural areas improved from -2 to +1.
Among men, his rating dropped from -7 to -13, while the score among women declined from -7 to -9.
The largest age-based decrease was recorded among Filipinos aged 35 to 44, whose net satisfaction rating plunged from -3 to -19.
The rating among those aged 25 to 34 also fell, from -21 to -26. Meanwhile, Marcos continued to receive his highest rating among respondents aged 55 and above, at +20.
The rating among those aged 45 to 54 remained at -1, while the score among 18- to 24-year-olds improved slightly from -27 to -24.
Education levels also produced mixed results. The President’s rating among non-elementary graduates dropped from +17 to -2, while it declined from -19 to -34 among college graduates and from -6 to -9 among junior high school graduates.
Among respondents with some senior high school education, the rating edged down from -25 to -26. The only improvement by educational group was among elementary graduates, whose rating rose from +5 to +9.
SWS conducted the Third Quarter 2026 Social Weather Survey through face-to-face interviews with 1,500 adults aged 18 and above nationwide.
The sample included 600 respondents from Balance Luzon and 300 each from Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.
According to SWS, the survey has a sampling error margin of ±3 percentage points for national figures, ±4 points for Balance Luzon, and ±6 points each for Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.