NEARLY three out of four adult Filipinos support the conduct of a Senate impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte, the latest Tugon ng Masa (TNM) survey conducted by Octa Research showed.
Results of the nationwide survey showed that 74 percent of respondents favor proceeding with the impeachment trial, an increase from the 69 percent recorded in March 2026.
The poll also found that 21 percent opposed the impeachment proceedings, while 4 percent were undecided.
Support for the trial was strongest in Metro Manila, where 84 percent of respondents expressed approval, followed by Balance Luzon at 78 percent and the Visayas at 77 percent.
Mindanao posted the lowest level of support at 54 percent. It also registered the highest opposition rate among the major geographic areas, with 41 percent of respondents saying they were against the impeachment trial.
Octa said the findings indicate that support for the impeachment process remains the majority view across the country despite regional differences in opinion.
The survey was conducted from April 20 to 24, 2026, through face-to-face interviews with 1,200 respondents aged 18 years old and above nationwide.
The survey has a margin of error of ±3 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level. Subnational estimates for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao have margins of error of ±6 percentage points.
Octa Research described the survey as independent, noncommissioned, and nonpartisan, adding that the results were released as a public service.
Prosecutors welcome validation
The House of Representatives’ prosecution team welcomed the Octa Research survey result.
“Well, we welcome that survey. It only validates what we believe is the demand of the Filipino people now and we see that in what is happening around that what the people really want is for this impeachment trial to proceed. And this is what the accountability mechanism is all about,” Batangas Second District Rep. Gerville Luistro, the lead impeachment prosecutor, said in Filipino and English in a press conference on Monday.
“So, we’re happy and we welcome that 74 percent,” Luistro said.
The House, voting 257-25 with nine abstentions, impeached Duterte on May 11, 2026, over alleged misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth allegedly amassed, alleged bribery, and saying that she had hired someone to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. if she were killed. The House then sent the impeachment articles to the Senate for trial.
Duterte denied the allegations in the two complaints heard by the Luistro-led House Committee on Justice but did not attend any of its hearings.
