September 2021 Nationwide Survey on News Sources and Use of the Internet, Social Media, and Instant Messaging Applications
Pulse Asia Research, Inc. is pleased to share with you some findings on News Sources and Use of the Internet, Social Media, and Instant Messaging Applications from the September 2021 Ulat ng Bayan national survey. We request you to assist us in informing the public by disseminating this information.
The survey fieldwork was conducted from September 6 – 11, 2021 using face-to-face interviews.
The following are only some of the key developments that took place in the weeks immediately prior to the conduct of the fieldwork for the survey as well as during the actual conduct of the interviews:
1. There was a renewal of calls for the resignation or firing of Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III following the 11 August 2021 release by the Commission on Audit (COA) of its 2020 report on the DOH. The said report states that there were “various deficiencies” totaling P 67.3 billion in the DOH’s funds that adversely affected the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even before the DOH could officially respond to the audit report, President Rodrigo R. Duterte seemingly cleared the DOH and DOH Secretary Duque of any wrongdoing by saying he will not accept the latter’s resignation should he offer to leave his post.
The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee embarked on a series of investigations on the COA report on the DOH’s misuse of its pandemic response budget. Among the issues discussed in these hearings were the delayed release of healthcare workers’ benefits, purchase of overpriced personal protective equipment (PPE) and COVID-19 test kits, double payment for face shields, and the unauthorized purchase of machines, among others. During the course of the Senate investigation, it was revealed that most of the government’s contracts for the provision of pandemic-related supplies were awarded to Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation, a company that was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) only in September 2019 with a paid-up capital of P 625,000. The company ended up with P 8.7 billion worth of government contracts. Furthermore, Pharmally Director Linconn Ong revealed during the 10 September 2020 hearing that the company borrowed money from former Presidential Economic Adviser Michael Yang to fund its first transaction amounting to P 54 million. However, the latter refuted this claim as he pointed out that his only role in the transactions was to introduce Pharmally Director Ong to the Chinese suppliers from whom they procured the items they sold to the Philippine government.
Aside from looking into how Pharmally was able to win these government contracts, Senator Franklin Drilon said the company should also be investigated for potential tax fraud while the committee requested the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to investigate the financial transactions of Pharmally as “dirty money” may have been used to its transactions with the government.
President Duterte defended Pharmally against its detractors and once again stated he will resign if it will be proven that there were irregularities in the DOH’s purchase of medical supplies. In addition, the President criticized the senators for their “malicious” investigation into the audit report and attacked the COA for releasing audit reports that lead the public to believe that government agencies and their officials are engaged in corruption. Meanwhile, Vice-President Maria Leonor G. Robredo said if President Duterte is serious about fighting corruption, he should release his statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN) and follow the COA’s recommendations on how to stamp out corruption in government. On the other hand, Ombudsman Samuel Martires, during the budget hearing for the Office of the Ombudsman on 09 September 2021, expressed support for tough penalties, perhaps even jail time of up to five (5) years, for any individual who would comment on the SALN of government officials and employees. The last time President Duterte released his SALN to the public was in 2017.
Likewise, the House of Representatives conducted its own investigation into the COA report on the DOH. During one of the hearings, DOH Secretary Duque turned emotional as he spoke about how the COA report has destroyed the morale of DOH personnel. Moreover, the latter said the DOH was not given sufficient time to address the concerns raised in the report prior to its public release. In response, COA Chairperson Michael Aguinaldo said the DOH was extended due process but the department failed to submit all the needed documents to the COA.
2. Aside from the DOH, the COA also flagged the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for its “insufficient internal control measures” in relation to its disbursement of aid to workers affected by the pandemic. The COA’s 2020 report on the DOLE shows that this failure of the agency resulted in excessive payments amounting to P 1.023 million to displaced workers, unclaimed cash aid totaling P 22.432 million still in money remittance centers, and the alleged distribution of P 1.824 million in aid that, upon verification, never reached its intended beneficiaries. Furthermore, the COA’s 2020 audit report for the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) called out the department for its failure to utilize P 780.71 million allotted for cash assistance to those affected by the pandemic in Regions 2, 7, 8, and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
3. The Philippines recorded its first case of the Lambda variant of COVID-19 on 15 August 2021. The variant, first detected in Peru, is a “variant of interest” due to its mutations that have been found to be resistant to antibodies created by vaccines. Meanwhile, by the end of August 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) pointed out that the highly transmissible Delta variant, first detected in India, is now the dominant strain in the Philippines. As of 06 September 2021, all regions in the country have Delta variant cases. And on 11 September 2021, the Philippines recorded its highest daily total COVID-19 cases at 26,303 cases, bringing the country’s total number of cases to 2,206,021, with 34,978 deaths. A day prior, President Duterte issued Proclamation No. 1218 that extends the national state of calamity due to the COVID-19 pandemic until 12 September 2022.
As the number of COVID-19 cases continue to increase, hospitals were once again swamped, with some of them being unable to accept additional COVID-19 cases or even non-life-threatening cases. Adding to the woes of the medical sector are the delayed release of the special risk allowance (SRA) and other benefits for healthcare workers, failure to compensate healthcare workers who contracted COVID-19, and the resignation of nurses particularly from private hospitals. As the country commemorated National Heroes’ Day on 30 August 2021, medical frontliners staged protest actions outside their respective hospitals to, among other things, push for the resignation of DOH Secretary Duque and call for the immediate release of benefits that were promised to them. A similar rally was held outside the main office of the DOH on 01 September 2021. Malacañang responded by assuring healthcare workers that all these benefits will be given to them, albeit with “a slight delay”.
4. In August 2021, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Sinopharm vaccine donated by China as well as the single-dose Sputnik Light manufactured by Russia. The FDA also gave its approval for the use of the Moderna vaccine for those aged 12-17 years old. The National Task Force Against COVID-19 disclosed that as of 01 September 2021, around 14.1 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated or 18.22% of the national vaccination program’s target population of 77 million.
For next year, the Duterte administration is allocating P 45.37 billion for the acquisition of COVID-19 booster shots. These funds will be part of next year’s proposed P 5.024 trillion national budget, wherein P 240.75 billion will be devoted to the government’s pandemic response. In a related development, employees and faculty members of the University of the Philippines (UP) protested the cut in the university’s proposed budget of P 36.5 billion, with Congress approving only P 20.1 billion. The UP budget includes funding for the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), one of the country’s key COVID-19 referral center, and the Philippine Genome Center, which does genome sequencing of COVID-19 variants. Even the DOH and the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) saw their budget proposals cut by P 73.9 billion and P 170 million, respectively. This prompted Vice-President Robredo to remark that there is an apparent “disconnect” between the General Appropriations Act for 2022 and the immediate need to effectively deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed 2022 national budget was submitted to Congress on 23 August 2021 for deliberations.
5. In terms of quarantine classifications, Metro Manila and 15 other areas remained under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) until 07 September 2021 based on the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force of the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID). On 06 September 2021, Malacañang announced that Metro Manila will shift to general community quarantine for the period 08-30 September 2021, with granular lockdowns being pilot tested in the area. However, the administration flip-flopped the following day as it declared that Metro Manila will instead remain under MECQ from 08-15 September 2021.
6. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque was under fire from various sectors after a leaked video of a 07 September 2021 pandemic task force Zoom meeting showed him castigating Dr. Maricar Limpin, president of the Philippine College of Physicians, after she pleaded for the administration to reconsider its decision to downgrade Metro Manila from GCQ to MECQ status given the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the area. The medical experts present during the meeting also recommended that places with high transmission rates be placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ). The Presidential Spokesperson scolded the doctors for being critical of the Duterte administration’s pandemic response. Although Presidential Spokesperson Roque said he is sorry for how he spoke to the doctors during the virtual meeting, he said he will never apologize for the message he was trying to convey to the medical experts. Following calls for his resignation after the incident, the latter said it is up to the President to remove him from his post.
7. On 08 September 2021, the faction of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) led by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi officially proclaimed Senator Christopher Go and President Duterte as the party’s standard bearers for next year’s elections. While Senator Go declined his nomination, President Duterte accepted the party’s nomination and expressed hope that serving as the next Philippine vice-president will allow him to continue serving the Filipino public. Earlier, the President said he will not run for vice-president in May 2022 should his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, decide to run for president. Senator Go, for his part, has expressed support for a probable presidential bid in May 2022 by Davao City Mayor Duterte.[1]
President Duterte was ousted as party chair by the PDP-Laban faction led by Senator Emmanuel Pacquiao on 29 August 2021, with Senator Aquilino Pimentel III stepping in as his replacement. The Cusi-led PDP-Laban faction has filed a petition with the COMELEC asking the commission to declare the Pacquiao-led faction of the ruling party as illegal.
The tandem of Senator Panfilo Lacson for president and Senate President Vicente Sotto III for vice-president also launched their campaign for the May 2022 elections on the same day. The long-time allies said they are running for the top elective posts in the country in order “to cleanse the government and restore public trust”.
8. The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) decided not to move the deadline for voter registration despite calls from different sectors to extend the deadline for a month from the original deadline of 30 September 2021 to 30 October 2021. COMELEC Spokesperson James Jimenez said such an extension would adversely affect the scheduled preparatory activities for the May 2022 elections. Likewise, the COMELEC rejected calls to allow the filing of certificate of candidacy (COC) through mail, electronic mail, telegram, or facsimile given the COVID-19 situation in the country. In its 18 August 2021 resolution, the COMELEC stated that the COC can only be filed by the candidate in person or through his/her authorized representative. In a bid to avoid another controversy in the party-list elections such as the case of the Duterte Youth in the May 2019 elections, the COMELEC also adopted stricter rules governing the nomination, withdrawal, and substation of party-list nominees in next year’s polls.
9. Two (2) weather disturbances hit the country during the survey period. Tropical Storm Jolina made its first landfall in Hernani, Eastern Samar on 07 September 2021. It made several other landfalls before exiting the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on 09 September 2021. Government data indicate that the tropical storm left 20 individuals dead, 33 injured, and 4 missing as well as caused estimated damages to infrastructure and agriculture amounting to P 63.7 million and P 1.35 billion, respectively. Typhoon Kiko followed soon after as it made landfall in Ivana, Batanes on 11 September 2021. Batanes Governor Marilou Cayco estimated that Typhoon Kiko caused damages amounting to P 358.88 million. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) allotted P 486.6 million to assist those affected by Tropical Storm Jolina and Typhoon Kiko.
10. On 30 August 2021, the United States (US) completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan, bringing to an end its 20-year military presence in the country. The following day, the Taliban celebrated the country’s “independence” as it claimed victory over the US and declared Afghanistan as a “free and sovereign nation”. On 15 August 2021, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) called for a mandatory evacuation of all Filipinos in Afghanistan following the collapse of the Afghan government and the takeover of Taliban forces.
This nationwide survey is based on a sample of 2,400 representative adults 18 years old and above. It has a ± 2% error margin at the 95% confidence level. Subnational estimates for each of the geographic areas covered in the survey (i.e., Metro Manila, the rest of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao) have a ± 4% error margin, also at 95% confidence level. Those interested in further technical details may refer to our website (www.pulseasia.ph)
Pulse Asia Research’s pool of academic fellows takes full responsibility for the design and conduct of the survey, as well as for analyses it makes based on the survey data. In keeping with our academic nature, no religious, political, economic, or partisan group influenced any of these processes. Pulse Asia Research undertakes Ulat ng Bayan surveys on its own without any party singularly commissioning the research effort.
For any clarification or questions, kindly contact Ana Maria Tabunda, Research Director of Pulse Asia Research at 09189436816 or Ronald D. Holmes, Pulse Asia Research President via Viber or Telegram at +639189335497 or at ronald.holmes@gmail.com (via email).
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[1] On 19 September 2021, Senator Emmanuel Pacquiao accepted the nomination of the other faction of PDP-Laban to be its presidential candidate in May 2022. By this time, all survey interviews have already been completed.Television remains the leading source of information about the country’s government and politics of Filipino adults (91%) while nearly half of them obtain their news about politics from radio (49%) and/or the internet (48%)
In September 2021, 91% of the country’s adult population say they get their political news from television, with 82% citing national television and 25% mentioning local television. Radio is the news source of 49% of Filipino adults, with a bigger percentage identifying local television than national television (32% versus 18%). A near majority of adults (48%) obtain their news about Philippine government and politics from the internet (48%), particularly Facebook (44%). More than a third of adults (37%) cite friends and/or relatives as their news source while a quarter (25%) mention friends and/or acquaintances. Newspaper is a source of political information of only 3% of Filipino adults. (Please refer to Table 1.)
The leading first-mentioned source of political news is television (78%). As far as second-mentioned responses are concerned, the top ones are radio (30%) and the internet (28%). With respect to third-mentioned sources of news concerning Philippine politics and government, the leading ones are the internet (27%), family and/or relatives (25%), and friends and/or acquaintances (25%).
Majorities in the different geographic areas and socio-economic groupings obtain their news about the country’s politics and government from television (87% to 93% and 86% to 94%, respectively), particularly national television (75% to 89% and 76% to 87%, respectively). Radio is a source of political news of most Visayans (67%), Mindanawons (64%), and those in Class E (55%). More specifically, local radio is cited by small to sizeable majorities in the Visayas (63%) and Mindanao (58%). The internet is mentioned as a news source by most Metro Manilans (72%), those in the rest of Luzon (55%), and Class ABC (60%), with Facebook being identified by more than half of Metro Manilans (64%) and those belonging to the best-off socio-economic grouping (51%). (Please refer to Table 2.)
From June 2021 to September 2021, there is an increase in the percentage of Filipino adults citing radio as their source of news regarding the country’s government and politics (+5 percentage points). In contrast, there is a drop in the percentages of those whose sources of political news are their family and/or relatives (-6 percentage points) and friends and/or acquaintances (-8 percentage points). (Please refer to Table 3.)
Most Filipino adults (63%) use the internet, with more than half of them (59%) logging on more than once a day
About two-thirds of the country’s adult population (63%) access the internet, with majorities across areas and classes saying they use the internet (62% to 84% and 52% to 71%, respectively). The only non-majority figure is recorded in Mindanao (47%). Reported use of the internet is essentially constant between June 2021 and September 2021 not only at the national level but also in the different areas and classes. Again, Mindanao is the exception with a decline being recorded in this geographic area (-13 percentage points). (Please refer to Table 4.)
A small majority of those who use the internet do so more than once daily (59%). The same is reported by majorities in the various areas and classes (59% to 76% and 57% to 72%, respectively), except in Mindanao (40%). The rest of internet users go online once a day (22%), twice to six (6) times a week (13%), once a week (3%), or less often than once a week (2%). From June 2021 to September 2021, there is a decline in the percentage of internet users who access the web more than once a day in the Philippines as a whole (-8 percentage points) as well as in the rest of Luzon (-10 percentage points), Mindanao (-19 percentage points), and Class D (-8 percentage points). Other notable movements during this period are the increase in the percentage of Mindanawons who use the internet once a day (+10 percentage points) as well as the rise in the percentage of those in Mindanao and Class D who go online twice to six (6) times a week (+11 and +5 percentage points, respectively.) (Please refer to Table 5.)
Checking their social media accounts (99%) and reading, watching, and/or listening to things of interest to them (53%) are the activities that most internet users do online; Facebook and YouTube are the most popular social media accounts among internet users in the country (99% and 57%, respectively)
Practically all internet users (99%) go online to check their social media accounts. Meanwhile, a little over half of internet users (53%) access the internet to read, watch, and/or listen to things of interest to them such as movies, recipes, and celebrity news. The rest of internet users access the web to read, watch, and/or listen to news about the government (41%) or the elections (24%), to shop online (22%), to send, receive, and/or read emails (20%), and for formal and/or non-formal online learning (10%). (Please refer to Table 6.)
Checking their social media accounts is an activity reported by almost every internet user across geographic areas and socio-economic groupings (99% to 100% and 98% to 100%, respectively). Additionally, majority of internet users in Metro Manila (69%), the rest of Luzon (52%), and Classes ABC and D (63% and 52%, respectively) read, watch, and/or listen to things of interest to them like movies, recipes, and celebrity news online. The only other majority figure across areas and classes is posted in Metro Manila, where most residents (58%) access the internet to read, watch, and/or listen to news regarding the government.
During the period June 2021 to September 2021, there is an increase in the percentage of internet users who go online to read, watch, and/or listen to news about the government at the national level (+14 percentage points) as well as in Metro Manila (+23 percentage points), the rest of Luzon (+10 percentage points), the Visayas (+22 percentage points), and Classes D and E (+13 and +22 percentage points, respectively). Also going up between June 2021 and September 2021 is the percentage of those who use the internet to read, watch, and/or listen to election-related news in the Philippines as a whole (+8 percentage points), Metro Manila (+14 percentage points), the Visayas (+10 percentage points), and Class D (+8 percentage points). Online shopping is an activity reported by more internet users in September 2021 than in June 2021 at the national level (+5 percentage points) and among Visayans (+9 percentage points) and those belonging to Class D (+6 percentage points). And in Mindanao, there is a rise in the percentage of those who go online to send, receive, and/or read emails (+9 percentage points).
Ownership of a Facebook account is nearly universal among internet users in the Philippines as a whole (99%) and across geographic areas and socio-economic groupings (97% to 100% and 98% to 100%, respectively). On the other hand, 57% of internet users have a YouTube account, 17% are registered on TikTok, 14% own an Instagram account, and 8% are on Twitter. In the different areas and classes, majorities of Metro Manilans (73%), those in the rest of Luzon (62%), and those belonging to Classes ABC and D (60% and 58%, respectively) have a YouTube account. No other majority figures may be noted in these subgroupings. (Please refer to Table 7.)
There are few changes in reported ownership of any social media account from June 2021 to September 2021. There is a drop in the percentage of those with a YouTube account in the Philippines as a whole (-9 percentage points), the Visayas (-22 percentage points), Mindanao (-23 percentage points), and Classes ABC and D (-15 and -9 percentage points, respectively). In Metro Manila, there is an increase in the percentage of those with a TikTok account (+11 percentage points) while in Mindanao, there is a rise in ownership of an Instagram account (+9 percentage points).
Nearly all Filipino adults who access the internet use an instant messaging application (99%), with Messenger being the most often used instant messaging application (98%)
Use of instant messaging applications is essentially universal among internet users as a whole (99%) and across geographic areas and socio-economic groupings (97% to 100% and 98% to 100%, respectively). More specifically, 98% of Filipino adults who access the internet use Messenger. Almost the same figures are posted in the different areas and classes (97% to 99% and 97% to 100%, respectively). The other instant messaging applications used by those who access the internet are Viber (5%), WhatsApp (2%), Telegram (2%), WeChat (1%), Hangouts (0.3%), Signal (0.1%), and Line (0.03%). There are no significant differences in the figures recorded by Pulse Asia Research in June 2021 and September 2021. (Please refer to Table 8.)
Almost all users of instant messaging applications talk to their family members (94%) and close friends (92%) via these applications while only about a quarter communicate with their co-workers (27%) and around a third engage with groups with similar wants or special interests and hobbies (36%)
Nearly every Filipino adult who uses an instant messaging application communicates with their family members (94%) and/or close friends (92%) through this means. Majorities across areas and classes talk to members of their family (87% to 99% and 92% to 99%, respectively) and/or close friends (83% to 99% and 91% to 99%, respectively) via instant messaging applications. In contrast, most users of instant messaging applications (61%) do not talk to groups with similar wants or special interests and hobbies, with at least half across areas and classes reporting the same (50% to 76% and 54% to 69%, respectively). (Please refer to Table 9.)
Meanwhile, the same percentage of those using instant messaging applications (27%) either communicate with their co-workers using such means or do not do so. About the same percentages in Metro Manila (30% versus 28%), the rest of Luzon (30% versus 26%), the Visayas (25% versus 24%), Class D (25% versus 28%), and Class E (28% versus 25%) either talk to or do not talk to their co-workers via instant messaging applications. In Mindanao, 36% do not communicate with their co-workers using instant messaging applications while in Class ABC, 39% report otherwise.
Politics is not discussed by most Filipino adults when they communicate with different groups via instant messaging applications (78% to 83%); among those who discuss political matters with various entities, pluralities do so either once a week (38% to 40%) or less often than once a week (29% to 39%)
Huge majorities, whether at the national level and across geographic areas and socio-economic classes, do not discuss politics, the government, and/or the elections through instant messaging applications with members of their family (75% to 86% and 74% to 83%, respectively), close friends (72% to 86% and 73% to 83%, respectively), co-workers (73% to 83% and 72% to 82%, respectively), and groups with similar wants or special interests and hobbies (82% to 84% and 78% to 85%, respectively). (Please refer to Table 10.)
Big pluralities of those who talk to their family members and/or co-workers via instant messaging applications discuss political matters with them once a week (40% and 38%, respectively). As for those who talk about politics with their close friends and/or special groups with similar wants or special interests and hobbies through instant messaging applications, around the same percentages do so either once a week (38% to 40%) or less often than once a week (38% to 39%). (Please refer to Table 11.)
