The situation, in brief
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has hit a record-low net satisfaction rating of -15 in the First Quarter 2026 Social Weather Stations survey conducted March 24-31, 2026—his worst since taking office in June 2022, when he started at +63. The rating marks a sharp decline from -3 in November 2025 and…
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has hit a record-low net satisfaction rating of -15 in the First Quarter 2026 Social Weather Stations survey conducted March 24-31, 2026—his worst since taking office in June 2022, when he started at +63.
The rating marks a sharp decline from -3 in November 2025 and -5 in September 2025, with 33% of Filipinos satisfied, 49% dissatisfied, and 18% undecided with his performance.
The steepest dissatisfaction comes from Mindanao, where Marcos’ net satisfaction rating stands at -40—the worst of any region and a stark reversal from the early years of his presidency when the southern island group was among his stronger performing areas.
The National Capital Region is not far behind at -31, while the Visayas registers -15—Balance of Luzon is the only region where Marcos remains in positive territory at +2.
By locale, urban Filipinos are more dissatisfied than their rural counterparts, with urban areas recording -20 against rural areas at -9—a gap that reflects a consistent pattern across multiple demographic breakdowns showing city dwellers are driving the dissatisfaction numbers.
The age group breakdown reveals a generational divide: the 25-34 age group gives Marcos his worst rating by age at -40, followed by the 35-44 group at -22 and the 18-24 group at -17.
Only the 55-and-above age group remains in positive territory at +14 — suggesting that older Filipinos are the last remaining demographic anchor of presidential satisfaction.
The educational level breakdown tells a similarly stark story: college graduates give Marcos his worst rating by education at -37, with some vocational at -21 and some college at -19. Non-elementary graduates and elementary graduates are the only education groups still in slightly negative but near-neutral territory at -3 each — reinforcing the pattern that higher education correlates with greater dissatisfaction with the Marcos administration.
Both men and women are now in negative territory simultaneously—men at -16 and women at -15—a virtually identical reading that suggests the dissatisfaction cuts across gender lines and is not concentrated in any particular demographic segment.
Marcos’ current -15 puts him below the historical average of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, whose average net satisfaction rating across her term was -7.
His predecessor, former President Rodrigo Duterte, maintained an average of +62 across his term—a benchmark Marcos, whose term average stands at +25, has fallen significantly short of as his presidency enters its final stretch.
The SWS First Quarter 2026 survey was conducted March 24-31, 2026, using a national sample. The net satisfaction rating is computed as the percentage of satisfied respondents minus the percentage of dissatisfied respondents, correctly rounded, ignoring those who answered “don’t know” or refused to answer.
