DESPITE mended ties between the Philippines and China, Beijing has received "poor" trust score among Filipinos, the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) poll released on Tuesday, November 20, showed.
The SWS emphasized that of the five specific countries tested for public trust in September, China received the least net trust score.
The survey, conducted from September 15 to 23, found that the United States (US) is the most trusted nation, while China is the least trusted country by the Filipinos.
The three other countries, namely, Japan, Malaysia, and Israel, registered a "moderate" net trust score each.
The SWS noted that while the US earned a net trust score of "very good" +59 in September, China merely received a "poor" -16 net trust rating.
The poll showed that only 27 percent of Filipinos have "much trust" in China, while 43 percent have "little trust." Some 28 percent were ambivalent on the matter.
"Net trust in China has been positive in only nine out of 47 surveys since SWS first surveyed it in August 1994, reaching as high as moderate +17 in June 2010 and as low as bad -46 in September 2015," the SWS noted.
"Its latest net trust score of poor -16 in September 2018 is 19 [percentage] points above the bad -35 in June 2018," it added.
The SWS survey was released on Tuesday, November 20, the same day Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Manila for a two-day state visit.
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the Palace was not surprised by the latest poll results, noting that it was expected for the US and Japan to receive Filipinos' "higher level of trust" because the two nations are Manila's "traditional allies."
"Our country’s renewed ties with our giant neighbor in the north provides us a welcome opportunity for the public to know and understand China better. It does not happen overnight but we are confident that a more favorable public appreciation of China would happen in the future," he added.
Panelo, however, noted that Filipinos' level of trust with China has "improved dramatically" since President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office in 2016.
The SWS interviewed some 1,500 adult Filipinos, using sampling error margins of ±3 percentage points for national percentages, ±4 percentage points for Balance Luzon, and ±6 percentage points each for Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao. (SunStar Philippines)