Church, academe, media have highest trust ratings in survey; gov’t least trusted by Janica Mahino

What are the three institutions Filipinos trust the most?

The Church, academe, and media, according to this year’s Philippine Trust Index (PTI) survey.

       The Church is still the most trusted with a 75 percent trust rating, followed by the academe with 53 percent and media with 33 percent.

        The government remains the least trusted institution with 11 percent. Non-government organizations had 12 percent in the survey. Business had 13 percent rating,

The survey, undertaken by EON Stakeholder Relations from May to June this year, had 1,626 respondents

Now on its third year, it aims to examine trust levels and drivers among the six institutions surveyed.

          Face-to-face interviews with respondents from urban and rural areas in NCR, North Luzon, South Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao were conducted, to gain a better understanding of the various factors that contribute to Filipinos’ trust in institutions.

           The Church and academe have enjoyed increases in trust ratings since 2012. The Church saw a significant increase of 21% among informed publics in urban areas.

          On the other hand, the government experienced the opposite, with trust ratings among government agencies dipping since 2012, with the largest drops observed for the Office of the President and the Senate.

            The latest PTI shows that an overwhelming majority of respondents regard communication as a crucial trust driver, with 9 out of 10 Filipinos thinking it is “very important” for government, businesses, NGOs, and media to communicate to its stakeholders.

            At least 6 out of 10 Filipinos also stated that they need to hear information about the government, business, NGOs, and media at least two to three times, in order to believe it.

           However, almost half of the respondents need to hear information about the Church only once in order for them to believe it.

            “The results show that trust is dynamic and that it can be built and eroded. It also highlighted that for Filipinos, trust can break communication barriers and is a tool that grounds relationships, which is why it will always be worthwhile to invest in building trust,” said Malyn Molina, EON assistant vice president for business development and strategic planning, during the presentation of the survey in Makati City Monday morning.

                 For the government, integrity is the foremost trust driver, dwarfing competence, performance, and leadership. Four out of 10 Filipinos in the survey said that “not being corrupt” is the most important driver for them to trust government. However, less than 2 of 10 believe that the government is not corrupt, said in the report.

Based on the findings, trust in media remained constant for the two consecutive study periods. TV commanded the highest trust level among the general public, especially in rural areas, followed by radio and newspapers.

Within the business sector, the industries of healthcare, water, IT/telecom, tourism, and pharmaceutical industries were accorded the highest trust levels, while the mining, alcohol and tobacco, and real estate industries garnered the lowest.

How business treats its employees also emerged as a very important trust driver among both the general and informed public. About 3 of 10 say that they trust businesses that give fair salaries and benefits.

“The 3rd Philippine Trust Index clearly shows that trust-building is a never-ending process and commitment that all institutions should take seriously. The value that trust brings to a relationship is limitless, which is why EON has always made trust-building the cornerstone of stakeholder relations,” said Junie del Mundo, EON chairman and CEO.