MANILA — A recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey reveals that over a third of Filipino adults harbor doubts regarding the Senate’s capability to deliver an impartial verdict in the upcoming impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Conducted face-to-face from September 21 to 27 among 1,500 adult respondents nationwide, the poll results released on Thursday, October 22, indicate that 35 percent of Filipinos possess little trust in the Senate’s fairness. This figure breaks down into 16 percent reporting “very little trust” and 19 percent stating “somewhat little trust.”
Conversely, 28 percent expressed much trust, split evenly between 13 percent with “very much trust” and 15 percent with “somewhat much trust,” while 32 percent remained undecided.
This dynamic places the Senate’s overall net trust rating at -7. The survey gauged public sentiment using a detailed question:
“Kayo po ba ay napakalaki ang pagtitiwala, medyo malaki ang pagtitiwala, hindi tiyak kung malaki o maliit ang pagtitiwala, medyo maliit ang pagtitiwala, napakaliit ang pagtitiwala na ang Senado ay makapagbibigay ng makatarungang desisyon kung dapat o hindi dapat na hatulan si Bise Presidente Duterte sa mga kasong isinakdal laban sa kanya?”
According to SWS, public trust in past high-profile impeachment proceedings was significantly higher. Historical data shows net trust ratings at positive levels during the trials of former President Joseph Estrada (+17 in Dec 2000, +21 in Jan 2001) and former Chief Justice Renato Corona (+21 in May 2012).
However, the polling agency noted that these prior figures are only indicative comparisons due to differences in scale structures between the older surveys and the 2026 poll.
Regionally, the Senate registered negative net trust ratings across all major areas. The Visayas recorded the lowest at -13, followed by Metro Manila at -8, Balance Luzon at -6, and Mindanao at -3. When analyzed by educational attainment, net trust remained positive only among non-elementary graduates (+7) and elementary graduates (+4), while turning negative among junior high school graduates (-15), senior high/college undergraduates (-16), and college graduates (-2).
Regarding procedural perceptions, 39 percent of respondents felt the trial was moving much too slowly, 31 percent believed it was proceeding at the right pace, and 22 percent considered it too rushed, with the remaining 7 percent offering no opinion.
The nationwide survey maintained a margin of error of ±3 percent for national figures, ±4 percent for Balance Luzon, and ±6 percent each for Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.