Duterte's ratings drop amid impeachment rap

By Hader Glang

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines

President Rodrigo Duterte's national trust ratings have dropped by seven percentage points according to the latest survey conducted by Pulse Asia Research between March 15 and 20.

Based on the results released on Wednesday, Duterte's ratings were down to 76% from 83% in December 2016.

The drop comes amid last month's impeachment complaint filed against the president in the House of Representatives.

Culpable violation of the constitution, bribery, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, and other high crimes are among the accusations included in the complaint which was filed by a former military officer turned congressman, Gary Alejano on March 16.

The recent survey also shows that 78% of Filipinos approve of Duterte's performance so far, which is 5 percentage points less than his performance approval rating in December, according to the Rappler news website.

This is the biggest dip Duterte has experienced so far, compared to decreases observed in past Pulse Asia surveys, Rappler said.

"It is also the first decrease in rating that is not statistically negligible since it surpasses the error margin," it added.

Duterte's ratings were down by 5 percentage points from July to September, while the dip was 3 percentage points from September to December.