FACT CHECK: Contrary to claim, media reported Pulse Asia survey on Duterte trust ratings
Claim: Media outlets ABS-CBN, TV5, and GMA did not report the latest Pulse Asia survey on the trust ratings of top government officials.
Rating: FALSE
Why we fact-checked this: The claim can be found in a November 2 post by X (formerly Twitter) user “BEESmark,” which has 35 comments, 67 reposts, 234 likes, 4 bookmarks, and around 15,000 views as of writing. The post states: “Pansin niyo ang abs-cbn, tv5, GMA tudo balita sa survey ng Octa? Ngayon tahimik sa survey ng Pulse Asia!”
(Have you noticed that ABS-CBN, TV5, and GMA reported the OCTA survey a lot? Now they are quiet about the Pulse Asia survey!)
Based on another post from the same X account, the user is likely referring to Pulse Asia’s September 2024 nationwide survey conducted from September 6 to 13. The survey showed Vice President Sara Duterte’s trust rating at 61%, higher than President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s 50% rating.
Meanwhile, the OCTA Research survey referred to in the X post is likely the September 4 to 7 poll which showed the trust ratings of Marcos and Duterte at 69% and 59%, respectively. These results were reported by GMA News and News5 on October 31.
The X post seems to imply that media outlets favored Marcos over Duterte by selectively reporting survey results in which Marcos’ trust rating was higher than Duterte’s (OCTA Research) and ignoring Pulse Asia’s survey results showing Duterte’s trust rating as higher than Marcos’.
The X user has also published several posts against Marcos, such as a November 3 graphic showing the Pulse Asia results with the text, “Tingnan niyo kamay ni PBBM, gusto pa yata nakawin ratings ni VP-Sara.” (Look at Marcos’ hand, maybe he wants to steal VP Sara’s ratings.)
The facts: Contrary to the claim, the media outlets mentioned in the post — ABS-CBN, TV5, and GMA — have news reports on Pulse Asia’s September survey. Such reports include an ABS-CBN News article and a clip from a TV Patrol episode; a GMA News article and a clip from a 24 Oras episode; and a clip from an episode of Frontline Pilipinas by News5. All of these reports were published or broadcast on October 1.
Decrease in ratings also reported: In addition to reporting the latest trust and approval ratings, the news articles also noted the drop in Marcos’ and Duterte’s ratings compared to the June 2024 Pulse Asia survey.
For Marcos, his September 2024 trust and approval rating — both at 50% — represented a decrease from his June 2024 trust and approval rating of 52% and 53%, respectively.
For Duterte, her September 2024 trust and approval ratings of 61% and 60%, respectively, represented a decrease from her June 2024 trust and approval ratings of 71% and 69%, respectively.
Duterte still had the highest approval and trust ratings among the top four officials featured in the September 2024 survey. (READ: Trust in Sara Duterte declines by 10 points amid budget discussions) – Percival Bueser/ Rappler.com
Percival Bueser is Rappler fact check contributor. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program here.
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