'Magulo, pera-pera lang': Majority of Filipinos have negative views on politics—survey
A recent survey conducted by Pulse Asia found that Filipinos generally view politics in the Philippines in a negative light, with many describing it as "chaotic" and "disorderly."
According to the study conducted from Feb. 20 to 26, more than a third (37.9%) of registered voters in the country characterize Philippine politics as disorderly ("magulo"), while almost a fifth (17.3%) of registered voters believe that it involves corruption through the exchange of money ("pera-pera lang").
A 10% of voters associate local politics with a lack of unity ("awayan/watak-watak/walang pagkakaisa"), while 5.8% link it to cheating or vote buying.
"Magulo" is said to be the "most often cited description of Philippine politics" in all geographic areas and most socio-economic classes. Only 4.2% of Filipino voters gave a positive description of local politics ("maayos").
Overall, Pulse Asia said that the rest of responses given by at least 1% of registered voters are negative in nature. These descriptions include:
- madumi (3.2%);
- ekslusibo/dinastiya/elitista (2.6%);
- paasa/pangakuan (2.6%);
- makasarili/personal na interes ang nangingibabaw (1.7%);
- agawan sa pwesto (1.4%);
- mahina ang pamahalaan (1.4%);
- kriminalidad nanumbalik (1.3%);
- abusado/inaabuso ang kanilang posisyon/gahaman sa posisyon (1.2%); 9. patayan (1.1%); and
- mahirap ang kalagayan/pamumuhay (1.0%).
The political scene in the past year saw the falling out of the once solid "UniTeam" of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte. The latter made threats against the president, First Lady Liza Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez in November 2024.
In February, Sara was impeached by the House of Representatives for a "series of grave allegations, including conspiracy to assassinate Marcos, large-scale corruption, abuse of public funds, and involvement in extrajudicial killings."
Duterte was arrested in March following a warrant from the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity.
The midterm elections are set for May 12 this year with a total of 18,272 national and local positions to fill.
