Business turned out to be the biggest loser when it came to the public’s perception of trustworthiness for their failure to meet expectations on business continuity and preservation of jobs, the Philippine Trust Index (PTI ) showed.
The ground survey among 800 respondents from August to September 2021 for the PTI showed the church (91), academe (90), media (76), and non-governmental organizations (NGOs at 70), saw a rise in trust with the latter nearly doubling its 2019 trust rating this year. Trust level in government was unchanged since 2019 at 76.
The EON Group, which conducted the survey, said business was generally caught flat-footed by the pandemic. Unable to pivot and build multi-tiered responses to the crisis, EO N said workers felt their employers failed to protect to them. The trust index in business fell five percentage points from 2019.
The church and academe retained high trust ratings due to their ability to pivot as well as their higher visibility during the pandemic Only the government saw the change in its negative perception outweigh the change in its positive one. Respondents were also asked to rate societal leaders, and the survey revealed that religious leaders, journalists, and media professionals were the most trusted.
Business leaders earned the lowest scores, consistent with the respondents’ general perception of their institution. Respondents identified the most-trusted government agencies : Department of Education, Pag- IBIG Fund, GSIS and the Bangko Sentral topped the list while the least trusted where the Department of Finance, the Presidential Communications Operations Office, the Department of Budget and Management, Office of the Vice President and the Office of the Ombudsman.
Most trusted in business are food and beverage , health care, pharmaceuticals, telecommunication and water and sanitation. The least trusted ones are real state and construction, advertising and PR, insurance and mining.
Despite the difficult conditions of the past two years, 91 percent of the survey respondents chose the Philippines to be their country of permanent residence even once travel restrictions are eased post-pandemic. Those who said that they have plans of leaving the country would depart not to migrate but to pursue better work opportunities abroad.
