Claim: Vice President Sara Duterte received a higher trust and performance rating than President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., according to Octa Research’s February 10 data.
Rating: FALSE
Why we fact-checked this: Multiple posts circulating on Facebook and Twitter have been gaining online engagements. One Facebook post from Duterte Fans Club has 3,600 reactions, 1,300 comments, and 889 shares.
The photo indicates that Duterte received 75% trust and 64% performance rating based on data last February 10 from Octa Research. Marcos, on the other hand, purportedly has a 33% trust and 29% performance rating which is lower than the Vice President’s.
The caption says, “Here is the force that is being executed or impeached by the House of Representatives of the 19th Congress. You have no shame, you […] congressmen. You don’t represent the true feelings of the community.”
Facts: Octa Research has not published any trust and performance rating of government’s top officials since January 14.
Although the survey results are not on the polling firm’s official website, its official Facebook page shared a GMA news update about the trust and performance rating of Marcos and Duterte based on Octa Research Tugon ng Masa survey conducted on November 10 to 16 in 2024.
The results show that Duterte received a 49% trust rating and 48% performance rating, while Marcos gained a 65% trust rating and 64% performance rating for the fourth quarter of 2024. These are higher than Duterte’s.
Octa Research’s latest published data was on senatorial preferences only, with the survey conducted from January 25 to 31. While the report is not visible on its website, Octa Research fellow Guido David shared the results on their X (formerly Twitter) account.
On-going impeachment case: The fabricated trust and performance ratings circulated amid the pending impeachment case against Duterte.
On February 5, the House of Representatives, with an initial 215 signatories from lawmakers, impeached Duterte for alleged misuse of confidential funds and assassination threat against the president, his wife, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez. They were later joined by 25 more, bringing the total of signatories to 240.
The ball is now in the court of the Senate that will convene as an impeachment court. The upper chamber is, however, currently on break due to the midterm election campaigns. Senate President Chiz Escudero said on February 10 that the impeachment trial will likely begin after the State of the Nation Address in July.
Similar fact checks: Rappler has fact-checked similar surveys attributed to Octa Research. The research organization warned the public about fake polls circulating online. Individuals can confirm the authenticity of a survey by contacting them directly. – Angelee Kaye Abelinde/Rappler.com
Angelee Kaye Abelinde, a campus journalist from Naga City, is a second-year Journalism student of Bicol University and the current copy editor of The Bicol Universitarian. She is a graduate of the Aries Rufo Journalism Fellow of Rappler for 2024.
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