SWS: Most Pinoys see little benefit from Marcos foreign trips

MANILA, Philippines — For a majority of Filipinos, the international trips made by President Marcos has little to almost no benefit at all for the country, a recent survey by Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed.

The survey, conducted from June 23 to July 1, found that 51 percent of the respondents see almost no benefit from Marcos’ foreign visits.

This is composed of 34 percent who said the international trips had “little benefit” and 17 percent who said that it had “almost no benefit at all.”

Meanwhile, 37 percent said it had “much benefit,” while eight percent said the trips had “very much benefit.”

Compared to a similar survey in October 2022, respondents who saw little or almost no benefit at all from the President’s foreign trips increased from 30 percent and 14 percent, respectively.

Those who saw “much” and “very much benefit” dropped from 39 percent and 16 percent, respectively.

Marcos has made 24 international trips to 17 countries since assuming office on June 30, 2022.

During the same period, his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte made 19 international trips to 18 countries, primarily to Southeast Asia and other countries in the region.

In contrast, Marcos’ trips brought him to the United States four times and to several countries in Europe, including Belgium, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Germany and Czech Republic.

This year alone, Marcos already had six trips to seven countries: twice to Brunei and once to Vietnam, Australia, Germany, Czech Republic, United States and Singapore.

Malacañang has repeatedly claimed that the foreign trips are expected to bring investments into the country.

The latest survey results came out as the Office of the President proposed a lower budget of P1.054 billion for travels in 2025, down from P1.148 billion this year.

This indicates possibly fewer trips for the President.

According to SWS, the last time a similar survey was conducted was in 2012 during the administration of then president Benigno Aquino III.

That time, 33 percent said foreign trips made by the President had “little benefit,” while 12 percent said it had almost “no benefit at all.” Some 37 percent said it had “much benefit,” while 16 percent said it had “very much benefit.”

The 2024 second quarter survey conducted by SWS had 1,500 respondents and a margin of error of plus/minus 2.5 percent.