Jamayka Rhose Pascual

Most Filipinos oppose 2025 midterm election candidates supporting China, as reported in a recent Pulse Asia poll.

Photo Courtesy of PIA-8/Vino Cuayzon.

Conducted from September 6 to 13, the survey revealed that 73% of Filipinos would not back pro-China candidates, only 5% expressed support, and 23% remained undecided on the matter.

The survey commissioned by the Stratbase ADR Institute sampled 1,200 Filipinos from different regions of the country.

The strongest opposition to pro-China candidates came from Visayas, where 85% of the respondents, followed closely by the National Capital Region (NCR) at 83%.

In Mindanao, 74% of respondents also opposed to the idea of pro-China candidates being elected, while Luzon exhibited the least opposition at 65%.

Mindanao also ranked first among those who were willing to support pro-China candidates at 10%.

Only 3% of respondents in both NCR and Luzon stated that they would back up pro-China candidates, while support in the Visayas was the lowest at just 2%.

Support for pro-China candidates was also higher for  Filipinos from the upper, upper-middle, and middle classes.

China remained the “least trusted country” in the survey result, with only 1% of the respondents identifying it as a trusted country partner.

In a 2019 Pulse Asia survey, China also ranked at the bottom of the list of trusted country partners.

The United States, meanwhile, topped the trust rankings, with 79% of respondents expressing support.

Respondents also ranked the United States as the most beneficial economic partner of the Philippines, with 66% in agreement.

According to Stratbase ADR Institute president Dindo Manhit, the survey results reflect the dissatisfaction of Filipinos with candidates supporting China amid tensions in the West Philippine Sea.

“Such candidates will become direct conduits for Chinese influence, which can jeopardize our national security and further empower a state that has repeatedly disregarded our sovereign rights and the international rules-based order. This is not just a political choice but a decision that can jeopardize our future and our nation’s standing in the global arena,” he stated.