By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
As the Senate received the articles of impeachment forwarded by the House of Representatives (HOR) following a majority vote from lawmakers seeking to hold Vice President Sara Duterte accountable for her malpractices, cracks are starting to manifest among the supporters of the second-highest government official.
In the Q1 2026 Tugon ng Masa (TNM) survey conducted by the OCTA Research Group, Duterte was paired with Senator Imee Marcos and former Vice President Leni Robredo was paired with Senator Raffy Tulfo in a hypothetical 2028 Presidential and Vice-Presidential Tandem match-up.
The Duterte-Marcos pairing garnered an average of 40% nationwide support, which pales in comparison to the 44% registered by the Robredo-Tulfo tandem.
Further breaking down the distribution of results by area, the latter earned the highest support in the National Capital Region (NCR) with 61%, followed by Balance Luzon at 5%, Visayas at 48%, and Mindanao at 5%, while the former received 86% of support from Mindanao, 40% from Visayas, and 23% from both Balance Luzon and NCR, respectively.
In terms of socioeconomic class, the Robredo-Tulfo pairing got the highest vote among Class D respondents at 47%, followed by Class E citizens at 36%, and Class ABC at 35%, while the Duterte-Marcos duo scored the highest among Class E citizens at 51%, followed by Class D at 39% and Class ABC at 37%.
What does it say about how Filipinos think of the Vice President?
In a news release on Wednesday, House Assistant Majority Leader Zia Alonto Adiong of Lanao del Sur touted the results of this hypothetical preference survey as a telltale sign of eroding national support and confidence in the leadership of the second-highest government official.
“Hindi ito prediction, pero malinaw itong senyales. Kung dati malayo ang lamang ng Duterte–Marcos alignment, tapos ngayon nauunahan na sila, may nangyari. Ang nangyari: sumisigaw ang ebidensya, pero ang kampo ni VP Sara, panay iwas.”
Representative Adiong moreover criticized Duterte’s continuing refusal to face the music and hold herself accountable for various allegations, particularly those during her brief stint as Education Secretary.
“Tinamaan na si Sara. Ayaw kasi humarap. Panay tago, panay presscon, panay atake sa proseso. Kapag ang ebidensya ay hindi sinasagot sa tamang forum, ang publiko mismo ang magsisimulang magtanong kung bakit takot humarap.”
Some of the allegations faced by the Vice President include the alleged misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth, and death threats against the First Couple and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
These findings by the polling body reflect the current political sentiments of Filipinos in light of certain hard-hitting issues within the upper echelons of the government, especially those concerning the Vice President, which may result in the emergence of a more competitive albeit divisive political landscape.
The survey was conducted nationwide from March 19 to 25 through face-to-face interviews with 1,200 respondents aged 18 and above selected through probability sampling. It carried a ±3% national margin of error at a 95% confidence level. (with report from Sheila Natividad | PTV News)
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