Asked whether the Senate will judge fairly, most Filipinos answered with a shrug that has names attached to it, except the survey never asked for names.
A Pulse Asia survey conducted Sept. 17 to 24, 2026 found that 60% of respondents think some senators will be fair in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte and others will not, according to Philstar (Oct. 17, 2026). The survey covered 2,400 respondents with a margin of error of ±2%.
The numbers
Per Philstar, on the fairness of senator-judges:
- 60% said some senators will be fair and others won't.
- 20% said all senators will be fair and won't favor anyone.
- 17% said the senators won't be fair in their decision.
- 4% gave no answer. (The figures add to 101% as reported, likely rounding.)
Put differently, only one in five respondents trusts the full bench of senator-judges. The survey did not ask which senators respondents had in mind, so the finding says nothing about who is seen as biased, or toward whom.
Is the trial good for democracy?
Respondents were split: 30% said the trial's impact on democracy is positive, 31% said negative, and 39% said they couldn't say. Philstar also notes earlier results showing that 41% of Filipinos have sufficient or great knowledge of the case, while 59% have little or none. Most respondents want Duterte to appear personally before the Senate impeachment court, according to the report.
Taken together, the picture is of a public that is watching a high-stakes trial it largely does not understand, with limited faith in the jurors. That is a problem for the Senate whichever way it votes.
The Palace declines to look ahead
Palace press officer Claire Castro, asked about a replacement should Duterte be convicted, said there are no talks about one. "There is no conviction yet," she said, adding that the matter should not be speculated on while the process continues, per Philstar. The report includes no direct reaction from senators or from Duterte to the survey.
Castro's answer is procedurally correct, and also tells readers nothing: the Palace did not say whether it has considered the question internally, only that it will not discuss it.
Context
The survey was conducted before this month's trial developments. Pulpulitiko reported that on Oct. 13 the impeachment court granted the prosecution's bid to drop three of the four articles against Duterte, and that on Oct. 15 the Vice President's camp alleged the 2027 budget was being used as a "bargaining chip" on senator-judges, a claim Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian and Sen. Panfilo Lacson denied. Those events postdate the fieldwork, so the poll cannot tell us how the public reads them.
What the poll does show is a baseline: before the latest turns, four in five Filipinos did not believe every senator-judge would be impartial. Senators who want the verdict to be accepted will have to earn that, on the record.
Sources
- Philstar, "60 percent think some senators won't be fair in impeachment trial," Oct. 17, 2026: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2026/10/17/2563727/60-percent-think-some-senators-wont-be-fair-impeachment-trial
- Pulpulitiko, "Sara Duterte Says the 2027 Budget Is a 'Bargaining Chip' on Senator-Judges," Oct. 15, 2026.