74% of Filipinos want Marcos admin to strengthen economic ties with US, Japan - poll

Majority of Filipinos want the Philippine government to strengthen its economic ties with the United States and Japan, based on the results of a Pulse Asia survey commissioned by think tank Stratbase ADR Institute.

The poll showed that 74% of Filipinos want the Marcos administration to have stronger economic relations with the US.

The survey also found that 55% want stronger ties with Japan, whose leader Fumio Kishida visited the Philippines last week, while 46% want the same with Australia.

About 40% want robust relations with Canada and 26% with the European Union.

Pulse Asia released the results of the poll on Wednesday during a forum on the Philippine manufacturing sector organized by the Stratbase ADR Institute.

Conducted from September 10 to 14, 2023, the survey asked 1,200 respondents nationwide to identify three countries they believe the Marcos administration should strengthen its economic relations with.

The survey also showed that 70% of Filipinos agree that the private sector plays an instrumental role in ensuring economic security, in which individuals enjoy a stable source of income and are consistently able to meet their basic needs.

The poll also found that when Filipinos were asked to identify three ways the private sector can help in the attainment of economic security, the majority said that it can make goods that are more affordable and accessible to Filipino consumers (64%), create jobs (60%), and expand livelihood opportunities (58%).

In an earlier statement, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said “national security is no longer simply about territorial defense. Economic security is national security.'' —VBL, GMA Integrated News