More Filipinos trust President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. than Vice President Sara Z. Duterte for the first time in three years, with the latest OCTA Research Group showing the performance rating of PBBM climbing 71% in the second quarter from 69% posted in the first quarter.
In contrast, Duterte's trust rating dropped by three percentage points to 65% from 68% recorded in the first quarter of 2024. The survey was conducted survey conducted from June 30 to July 5
"This is the first time President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has registered a higher trust and performance rating than Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio based on TNM surveys in the last three years," OCTA said.
"It must be noted that the VP Duterte trust and performance ratings continue to trend downward for the second straight quarter in 2024," the pollster added.
OCTA noted that Marcos' trust score increased by eight percentage points due to an increase of eight percentage points in Mindanao (56% from 4%), Duterte's bailiwick.
Marcos earned the highest trust rating in Balance Luzon (80%), followed by Metro Manila (7%) and Visayas (69%).
OCTA said Marcos' trust rating also increased by 22 percentage points among adult Filipinos belonging to Class ABC (74%), followed by Classes D (71%) and E (66%).
Approval of Marcos' performance was also higher by three percentage points to 68% from 65 percent recorded in the first quarter of 2024.
Marcos' performance score was highest in Balance Luzon (75%) and improved by eight percentage points in Mindanao (56%).
His performance rating was also high in Metro Manila (68%) and Visayas (65%).
Based on the survey, Marcos also enjoyed an increase of 11 percentage points from adult Filipinos belonging to Classes ABC (71%), followed by Classes D (68%) and E (64%).
Meanwhile, Duterte's trust score remained highest in her bailiwick, Mindanao, which rose by nine percentage points to 95 percent.
Her trust rating declined by four percentage points in Balance Luzon (52% from 48%) and three percentage points in Visayas (66% from 63%).
Duterte's trust score in Metro Manila was 60%.
She also earned the highest trust score from adult Filipinos belonging to Class E despite a decline of four percentage points from 68% to 64%. This was followed by Classes D (65%) and ABC (64%).
Duterte suffered declines in her performance ratings among all regions, with the highest in Metro Manila at six percentage points (50% from 56%) and Visayas at four percentage points (60% from 64%).
Her performance score remained high in Mindanao (92%) but reported lowest in Balance Luzon (48%).
Duterte's performance rating also decreased by six percentage points in Class E (65% from 71%) and three percentage points in Class D (60% to 57%). She posted the lowest performance rating among adult Filipinos belonging to Class ABC, which was 56%.
Story 8 SECOND BANNER
COA orders Sara to return P73.28M
in ‘disallowed’ confidential funds
The Commission on Audit (COA) has ordered Vice President Sara Duterte to return ₱73.28 million of the ₱125 million in confidential funds that her office spent in just 11 days in December 2022 on items deemed disallowed under government regulations.
The COA’s Notice of Disallowance, dated Aug. 8, 2024, surfaced during a House Committee on Appropriations hearing as lawmakers deliberated on the proposed ₱2.037 billion budget for the Office of the Vice President (OVP) for 2025.
The disallowed expenditures, amounting to nearly two-thirds of the total confidential funds, included payments for rewards in the form of goods rather than cash, and the procurement of tables, chairs, desktop computers and printers — expenses that appeared inconsistent with the intended use of confidential funds.
Tensions rose during the hearing as Vice President Duterte repeatedly refused to answer lawmakers' questions about the rapid expenditure of the confidential funds.
Her consistent response to the questions was, “I will forego the opportunity to defend the OVP 2025 budget proposal in question and answer, and I will leave it to the House to decide on the proposal.”
Appropriations panel vice chair Marikina 2nd District Rep. Stella Quimbo, who presided over the hearing, emphasized that the interpellation is a critical component of legislative oversight.
“Madam Vice President, we have 17 members listed for interpellation. And as you know, you’ve been here many times for our budget briefing, that this is an important part of the budget briefing,” Quimbo said.
“The GAA, the General Appropriations Act, is arguably the most important piece of legislation of the year,” she stressed.
Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro questioned the prudence of spending ₱125 million in just 11 days, especially given the OVP's generally low utilization rate for other budget allocations.
"Nakita naman natin doon sa presentation. So ang utilization ay napakababa. Pero siyempre comment ko lang, mas mabilis siya sa confidential funds, 100% in 11 days," Castro pointed out, pressing Duterte for an explanation of the disallowed purchases.
At one point, Duterte deflected by questioning the relevance of discussing previous budgets, particularly the 2022 budget that included the confidential funds.
“Nasaan ang topic natin dito, at ang pina-submit ninyo sa amin is the budget proposal of 2025, where in the budget proposal of 2025 is the item confidential funds?” Duterte asked, questioning the validity of the inquiries.
Quimbo countered, insisting that Castro’s questions were valid, especially given the ongoing concerns about how the confidential funds were used.
“The Hon. France Castro has already provided a sufficient explanation as to why she asked the question, so please proceed with your answer,” Quimbo said.
Castro highlighted that ₱40 million of the confidential funds had been allocated for medical and food aid, questioning how such a large amount could have been spent so quickly.
"So ang ibig sabihin ito, Madam Chair, konting math, pumapatak na ₱3.64 million kada araw ang gastos para sa food and medical aid. So hindi natin maintindihan paano ito ginastos in 11 days," Castro said.
Duterte’s continued evasion led Castro to compare the Vice President’s tactics to that of a squid releasing ink to avoid capture.
“Sorry for the pusit, na kapag nasusukol na ang pusit ay nag-aano ng maitim na tinta,” Castro said. “So ayaw natin ng ganun, Madam Chair, kasi ‘yung atin namang pinag-uusapan dito ay budget. So ‘wag naman mag-ugaling pusit ang Office of the Vice President.”
Castro also stressed that the COA's Notice of Disallowance made the spending of the funds illegal. "If disallowed, ilegal ang paggamit nito," she said.
COA Assistant Commissioner Alexander Juliano explained that a Notice of Disallowance signifies that an expenditure is deemed improper by the COA.
"Ang Notice of Disallowance po ang ibig sabihin, hindi pwede ang expenditure kasi it’s either irregular, unnecessary, excessive, extravagant, or unconscionable," Juliano said.
Comments