By: Ellalyn V. Ruiz
Filipinos have expressed much trust in the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police, gaining record-high “very good” net ratings in a Social Weather Stations survey released Friday night.
The nationwide survey conducted from March 30 to April 2, 2016 among 1,500 respondents found out that 75 percent have much trust and nine percent have little trust in the AFP while 69 percent have much trust and 14 percent have little trust in the PNP, translating to “very good” net trust ratings (percentage much trust minus percentage little trust) of +66 for the AFP and +55 for the PNP.
The SWS said that these are record-high scores for the AFP and PNP.
SWS terminology for net trust ratings are +70 and above as “excellent;” +50 to +69 “very good;” +30 to +49 “good;” +10 to +29 “moderate;” +9 to -9 “neutral;” -10 to -29 “poor;” -30 to -49 “bad;” -50 to -69 “very bad;” and -70 and below “execrable.”
Net public trust in the AFP was a good +48 when first surveyed by SWS in September 1988. It rose to a very good +53 in December 2000 and went to moderate to good levels from September 2003 to March 2006, ranging from +12 to +32.
It rose to very good +57 in February 2010 and fell slightly to good +49 in May 2012. It went up to very good +64 in March 2014 and to +66 at present.
On the other hand, SWS first surveyed public trust in the PNP in December 2000 and had a good net trust rating of +42.
It went to moderate levels from September 2001 to March 2005, ranging from +12 to +20. It rose to very good +52 in February 2010 and a good +45 in March 2014 before reaching a record-high very good +55 in March 2016.
The April 2016 survey found public trust in the AFP and PNP to be higher outside Metro Manila.
The net trust rating of the AFP was highest in the Visayas at +70, followed by Mindanao and rest of Luzon, both at +69, and Metro Manila at +47.
The net trust rating of the PNP was highest in Mindanao at +62, followed by rest of Luzon at +59, Visayas at +58, and Metro Manila at +29.
Net public trust in both the AFP and PNP was higher in rural areas compared to urban areas.
The net trust rating of the AFP was +70 in rural areas, and +60 in urban areas. For the PNP, net public trust was +65 in rural areas, and +42 in urban areas.
The April 2016 survey found public trust in the AFP and PNP to be higher among the lower socio-economic classes.
The net trust rating of the AFP was highest among Class E or the “poorest” at +70, followed by Class D or the “masa” at +66, and Class ABC or the upper-to-middle class at +43.
The net trust rating of the PNP was highest among Class E at +64, followed by Class D at +54, and Class ABC at +45.
The net trust rating of the AFP was highest among those in religions other than Catholicism, Islam, and Iglesia ni Cristo at +70, followed by Roman Catholics at +68, INCs at +51, and Muslims at +35.
Meanwhile, net public trust of the PNP was highest among Roman Catholics at +57, followed by other religions at +54, Muslims at +49, and INC at +47.
