MANILA, Philippines — More than 4 in 5 Filipinos believe it is important for Vice President Sara Duterte to personally attend her impeachment trial, while only 13.6% think otherwise, according to Momentum Research’s national survey.
The inaugural issue of The National Momentum Survey, a non-commissioned study, found that 44.3% of Filipinos consider the vice president’s personal attendance at the impeachment trial “extremely important,” while another 39% say it is “important.” On the other hand, only 10.6% think it is “unimportant,” and 3% believe it is “extremely unimportant.”
Only 2.5% of respondents are unsure, while 0.6% decline to answer (See Figure 1).
The survey’s findings come as the vice president remains absent from her own impeachment trial nearly a month after proceedings began, with only her legal counsel appearing on her behalf.
Even across regions, most respondents value Duterte’s personal attendance at her impeachment trial. The combined share of respondents who believe her attendance is “important” or “extremely important” is highest in Metro Manila (92.3%), followed by the Rest of Luzon (87.3%) and Visayas (85.1%).
Mindanao, however, stands apart from the other regions. While 68.5% of respondents say it is important for Duterte to personally attend her impeachment trial, this is the lowest share among all regions. Still, it represents a clear majority. (See Table 1).
Political differences are also relatively limited on this question, with at least 7 in 10 respondents in each faction saying it is important for Duterte to personally attend her impeachment trial. The proportion is highest among Pro-Opposition respondents (93.2%), followed by Pro-Marcos respondents (88%) and Independents (85.4%).
Pro-Duterte respondents are also the least likely among the factions to say it is important for the vice president to appear before the Senate impeachment court. But even then, about three-quarters (75.3%) say her attendance is either “important” or “extremely important.”
Only 22.5% of Pro-Duterte respondents consider it “unimportant” or “extremely unimportant,” although this is still the highest among all political factions. In other groups, only about 1 in 10 respondents share the same view (See Table 2).
Conducted from July 13 to 16, the National Momentum Survey was carried out through face-to-face interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,438 Filipino adults. It has a ±2.6% national margin of error and a 95% confidence level.
Subnational margins of error are ±7% for the National Capital Region, ±4% for the Rest of Luzon (North, South, and Central Luzon), ±6% for Visayas, and ±5% for Mindanao — all at a 95% confidence level.
