A member of the House prosecution panel in the upcoming impeachment trial of the Vice President played down the latest Pulse Asia survey showing that half of Filipinos disagree with the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte, saying public opinion should not dictate the course of a constitutional process.
“In relation to the prosecution, personally I can’t speak for everyone else, but we have to take it with a grain of salt,” 1-RIDER Party-list Rep. Rodge Gutierrez told reporters.
“We also saw the results of the survey in our senatorial election. Surprised, No. 2 Sen. [Bam] Aquino, and we also have Sen. [Kiko] Pangilinan among others, so that’s it, I really take surveys with a pinch of salt right now,” he said.
Gutierrez was referring to what he described as unexpected results in the May 2025 senatorial race, where senators-elect Aquino and Pangilinan—both trailing in pre-election surveys—landed in the winning circle, contrary to poll projections.
The Pulse Asia “Pulso ng Bayan” survey, conducted from May 6 to 9 among 1,200 registered voters, found that 50 percent disagreed with the filing of the impeachment complaint, 28 percent agreed, and 21 percent were undecided. The survey has a ±2.8 percentage point margin of error.
Pressed on whether the new numbers affected his trust in surveys—especially after citing public clamor as part of the basis for impeachment—Gutierrez acknowledged a shift in perspective.
“Prior to the elections, I did believe in surveys, but after the election, we saw the results—that’s when we believe otherwise,” he said.
Editor’s Note: This has been updated.
