Survey: 4 of 5 Filipinos doubt senators' verdict in Sara Duterte trial

MANILA, Philippines — Four out of five Filipinos either do not believe senator-judges will base their decision in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on evidence and the law, or simply do not know how they will decide, survey results from Octa Research showed.

Based on the results of a survey conducted by Octa from April 20 to 24 where they asked if they believed most senator-judges will decide based on the evidence rather than politics, 32 percent responded that they do not, while 49 percent said they were undecided.

READ: Sara Duterte impeachment pre-trial conference commences

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Only 19 percent said they believed the senators would decide based on the evidence and the law alone.

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“Taken together, these findings indicate that more than four out of five Filipinos (81 percent) either doubt that senators would decide primarily on the basis of evidence and the law or have yet to form a definitive judgment on the matter,” Octa Research noted on its findings.

Meanwhile, survey findings showed that Mindanao recorded the highest level of skepticism, while Metro Manila and Balance Luzon showed higher levels of uncertainty.

“These findings suggest that perceptions of the impeachment  process are not uniform across the country and that expectations regarding fairness, impartiality, and credibility vary significantly across regions and socioeconomic groups,” Octa said.

However, Octa noted that the majority of respondents saying they were undecided suggests that many Filipinos continue to reserve their judgment until the Senate actually starts conducting the proceedings.

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Octa noted that since the survey was conducted before the trial even commenced, the findings should be viewed as a “baseline measure of public perceptions” and not “fixed opinions.”

The survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews, with a total of 1,200 respondents aged 18 and above.

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It had a ±3 percent margin of error at a 95% percent confidence level, with a ±6 percent margin of error each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. /jpv

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