MANILA, Philippines — The Senate emerged as the country's least trusted and least approved government institution in the second-quarter 2026 PAHAYAG survey conducted by PUBLiCUS Asia, posting an approval rating of 21 percent and a trust rating of 12 percent.
The survey, released on Wednesday, showed the Senate was followed by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), which received a 22-percent approval rating and 14-percent trust rating.
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) ranked next with 25 percent approval and 15 percent trust, while the House of Representatives posted 26 percent approval and 15 percent trust.
In contrast, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) remained the highest-rated government agency, registering 63 percent approval and 45 percent trust.
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) ranked second with 53 percent approval and 37 percent trust, followed by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) with 48 percent approval and 35 percent trust. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) also maintained relatively high public confidence with a 35-percent trust rating.
Among government leaders, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian posted the strongest ratings, with 32 percent approval and 21 percent trust.
Speaker Faustino Dy III continued to receive low public support, although his approval rating rose slightly to 13 percent from 11 percent in the previous survey, while his trust rating increased to 8 percent from 6 percent.
Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo also recorded a modest improvement, with his approval rating increasing to 17 percent from 16 percent. His trust rating remained unchanged at 10 percent.
The survey also found opposition figures leading the favorability rankings.
Sen. Bam Aquino topped the list with a net favorable rating of 57 percent, including 29 percent of respondents who described him as "very favorable."
He was followed by Sen. Francis Pangilinan with a 46-percent net favorable rating and Sen. Risa Hontiveros with 47 percent. Both also posted relatively high "very favorable" ratings at 22 percent and 21 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada registered the highest net unfavorable rating at 58 percent, with 39 percent of respondents describing him as "very unfavorable." He was followed by Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, who posted a 56-percent net unfavorable rating, including 44 percent who viewed him as "very unfavorable."
The PAHAYAG second-quarter 2026 survey was conducted from June 28 to 30 among 1,509 registered Filipino voters selected through purposive sampling from the PureSpectrum online research panel. The survey has a national margin of error of ±3 percentage points.
