THE PHILIPPINE PARADOX
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Philippine Trust Index | 1
About PTI The Philippine Trust Index (PTI) is the EON Group’s multi-awarded
proprietary research research that looks into the levels and drivers of trust among Filipinos. It is a nationwide survey that cuts across socioeconomic, educational, geographic and demographic backgrounds to discover just how much Filipinos trust the six key institutions in society - the Government, the Business Sector, Sector, the Media, Non-Governmental Organizations, the Church and the Academe.
For the fth iteration of the PTI, EON collected responses from 1,200 Filipinos aged 18 and above from March to April 2017. These Filipinos
represent represe nt the sentiments of the general public. Among this la rger pool is a sample of 600 Filipinos deemed the informed public - Filipinos who are at least 25 years old with at least 3 years of tertiary education and
who tune in to news updates at least twice a week.
As EON has always endeavored to go the extra mile to remain timely
Table of Contents
and relevant, the PTI goes beyond trust levels to look deeper into pressing issues important to Filipinos. This year, year, EON turned social media into a pillar of the study by exploring Filipinos’ Filipinos’ trust in social media compared to other institutions, and by listening in on social media conversations about trust in the six key institutions to discover whether online discussions truly reect on-the-ground realities.
This initiative is driven by EON’s EON’s commitment to championing truth-telling for meaningful and lasting change. The PTI is born out of the belief that telling the truth well can only be done by understanding trust in the Filipino society. society.
Part I: Where do Filipinos place their trust? Page 4
Part II: What drives Filipinos to trust? Page 8
Part III: What does this mean for truth-telling truth-telling?? Page 10
On-the-Net vs. On-the-Ground:
For a more in-depth look at the discoveries of the Philippine Trust Index 2017, 2017, a digital copy of the Primer is available upon request. Please email
[email protected] [email protected]
Does social media buzz reflect public sentiment sentiments? s? Page 11
THE PHILIPPINE PARADOX All over the world, we are seeing rises that rapidly change the way society functions. We are seeing a rise in uncertainty.
From unconventional and unpredictable leaders of nations, monumental events in international relations and an apparent From return to protectionism, to the growing threat of terrorism to both security and the economy - a ll these new players plus the constantly evolving evolving rules of the game have made it all the more difcult to navigate the local and global arenas. We are seeing a rise in social media’s ubiquity and its power to inuence real-world outcomes .
The Internet penetration rate and social media access around the world (including the Philippines) are on the rise, but still only make up less than half of the global population. Still, political and market outcomes in the last years would suggest that online conversations conver sations are representative of public sentiment, or at the very least they spur concret concrete e actions - from rallies to boycotts to high-prole resignations. We are seeing a rise in demands placed on institutions to do well and to do good.
Social media has given us a platform to air our grievances, grievances, and the result is that now more than ever ever,, for better or for worse, worse, fairly or unfairly, we have become a more demanding society, most especially of institutions. With social media acting as both our megaphone to the public and our direct line to institutions, we make sure that institutions know not only our demands, but also that we a re constantly watching watching and scrutinizing their every move. move. The result of these rises is a society that is constantly uncertain of institutions’ motives, of political and market outcomes, and of the truth. And when uncertainty rises, trust falls. The world is experiencing a crisis of trust1.
Across the globe, trust in society’s four key institutions - the government, the business sector, sector, NGOs and a nd the media - have all dropped like never before. In the Philippines, trust is on the rise. This is the Philippine Paradox.
1 - Edelman Global Trust Barometer 2017
PART I: WHERE DO FILIPINOS PLACE THEIR TRUST? This year marks a time of many rsts for the Philippine Trust Index (PTI) . Four out of society’s six institutions gained the trust and favor of the Filipino people, while trust in two, the Church and the Media, stagnated this 2017. The greatest gainer of Filipinos’ favor is the government as extreme trust almost tripled since 2015 while overall trust levels are up by 30 percentage points (pp). This sharp incline puts trust in the government at par with trust in the media - a rst in PTI history.
While the Church, regardless of religion, remains to be the most trusted by Filipinos, trust in this institution continues to decline - a trend going on since 2014 - while overall trust has stagnated. This plateau is matched by the growing overall trust in the Academe, which means that for the rst time in PTI history, Filipinos’ overall trust in the Church and the Academe are at the
same level.
Trust in Institutions over Time 100
92 24
94
92
93
19
19
27
93 85 40
88 35
87
Moderate Trust
36
84
36
80 51
75
75
73
45
75
50
60
68
41
73
68
Extreme Trust
78
51
77
55
66
58 57
50
53
43
51
50
50
39
38
55
55
46
46
59
56 52
46
44
40 41
45
32
29
25
15 11
12
2014
2015
33
35
32
28
9
13
15 9
12
12
2012
2014
13 9
0 2012
2014
2015
2017
Church
2012
2014
2015
2017
2012
Academe
2017
2012
Government
2014
2015
2017
2012
Media
2014
2015
2017
Business
2015
2017
NGOs
LOOKING DEEPER: WHAT DEEPER: WHAT FACTORS FACTORS AFFECT FILIPINOS’ FILI PINOS’ TRUST? 1. Rural residents are a more trusting people than urban dwellers. Trust in all institutions are generally higher among rural residents versus their urban counterparts, but the difference is most stark (14pp) for people’s trust in media.
Trust in Institutions (by Area) 90
Church
95 90
Academe
95 77
Government
82 71
Media
85 73
Business
76 57
NGOs
61
50
60
70
Urban 4
| The Philippine Trust Index
80
Rural
90
100
THE PHILIPPINE PARADOX
2. Trust levels across institutions and sub-institutions vary signicantly among Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The three
island groups are most divided a bout their trust in the Church, Academe and Government. Luzonians trust the Church and Academe far more than Visayans and Mindanaoans, but the Government is signicantly more trusted by Mindanaoans.
Trust in Institutions (by Location) 100 75
75 74 70 66
65
54
50
57
55
63
59 49 49 45
29
25
30
26 21
28 27 27
30
28
26
21 15 14
13
15
18 14
13
12 13
15
13 12
0
Church
Academe Average
Government
NCR
North Luzon
Media
Business
South Luzon
Visayas
NGOs
Mindanao
3. Institutions 3. Institutions are trusted less by Filipinos on social media than by Filipinos ofine. ofine . The gaps are most signicant for the
government (8pp), (8pp), the media (8pp), and the academe. It’s also worth noting that rural residents are less likely to have social media access (36.4%) than urban dwellers (63.6%).
Trust in Institutions (by Social Media Access) 100
75
78
81
61 50
54
33
32
25
25
24 14
15
12
14
0 Church
Academe
Government
Us es es So So ci ci al al Me Media
Media
Business
NGOs
Do es es No Not Us Us e S oc ocia l M ed ed ia ia
The Philippine Trust Index | 5
THE PTI 2017 WILDCARD: TRUST IN THE GOVERNMENT
Trust in Government Sub-Institutions
100
82 78
43
75
Filipinos trust most governmen governmentt sub-institutions sub-institutio ns more now than ever before. The Ofce of the President
51 65 49
57
experienced an unprecedented unprecedented jump in
67
67
67
67
50
51
44
45
23
22
SC
RTC
40
50
extreme trust (24pp) and overall trust (31pp) levels. This makes OP this
39
year’s most trusted government sub-institution, surpassing LGUs despite the gains of the latter, while
25
the Ofce of the Vice President has the lowest trust ratings in 2017.
28 17
16
17
OVP
Cabinet
16
0
OP
LGUs
Senate
Moderate Trust
HOR
Extreme Trust
Filipinos are most likely to trust government agencies with which they always interact, evident in the fact that Filipinos’ most
trusted government agencies provide provide social services while the least trusted are those with which the everyday Filipino would rarely interact. interact. PhilHealth, SSS and DepEd are at the top of the list with at least 93% of Filipinos putting their trust in these
agencies, while NEDA, DBM and DOF have the most number of Filipinos unfamiliar with these agencies, and unsurprisingly, the least number of Filipinos claiming to trust in them.
Trust in Government Agencies 100 37
39
39 37
42
42
45
75
45
46 43
48 48
48
40 58
50
46
47
46 43
48 41
43
39 55
54
51
49
45 39
43
46 44 40 35
46
39
42
28 36
36
34
25
31
29
28
25
25
25 2 4
24
23
22
21
20 1 9
19
17
17
15
15
15
13
12
30
11
0
Mo de derat e Trus t
Ex tr tre me me T ru ru st st
CREEPING GROWTH: TRUST IN THE BUSINESS SECTOR Extreme trust in business industries are on the rise this 2017. Almost all businesses are now more trusted by Filipinos
compared to two years ago. The Ma nufacturing and Food & Beverages Beverages (F&B) Industries gained the most trust in the past two years (10pp jump each), while the Wate Waterr and Sanitation industry is the sole stagnant industry. Among the general public, healthcare maintains its position as the most trusted industry, but for this year, the F&B and pharmaceutical industries ank
healthcare as each jumped 8 ranks and 1 rank respectively in the last two years. On the other side, Filipinos trust least the Mining, Alcohol and Tobacco, Tobacco, Advertising and PR, and Legal industries, all of which hold their positions as the least trusted industries. While they certainly are a far cry from being trusted by Filipinos, trust in these industries nonetheless improved by 3-4pp since 2015.
Trust in Business Industries over Time 2015
2017
50 37
25
40
36 26
35 27
35 28
30 32
31 24
28
30
27
30
29 23
29 29 29 29
25
28
25 15
21
23
21
22 15
16
16
19 15
19 14
17
13
16 7
0
That this roster of most trusted industries all include brands that Filipinos use or come in contact with regularly suggests that repeatedd interactions is what builds trust. repeate 6
| The Philippine Trust Index
11 5
9
THE PHILIPPINE PARADOX
Filipinos trust brands that they come in contact with most often, whether as employees or as customers. Tallying together
the Filipinos’ most trusted brand names, most fall under the manufacturing and retail sectors, followed by restaurants restaurants and fastfood fastfoo d chains.
Most Trusted Brands by Sector 36 33 19 14 10 6 5 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 11 0
10
20
30
40
The Most Popular & The Most Trusted
Trust versus Fame:
INFORMED PUBLIC
GENERAL PUBLIC
Which brands are the most popular and which are the most trusted among Filipinos?
MOST POPULAR
MOST TRUSTED
MOST POPULAR
MOST TRUSTED
SM
SM
SM
SM San Miguel Corp.
Jollibee
San Miguel Corp.
San Miguel Corp.
San Miguel Corp.
Jollibee
Jollibee
Jollibee
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
McDonald’s
McDonald’s
Metro Gaisano
Aboitiz
Robinsons
BDO
Mitsumi
Mitsumi
BDO
Robinsons
Aboitiz
Metro Gaisano
Nestle Philippines
Aboitiz
McDonald’s
BDO
Meralco
Nestle Philippines
PLDT
McDonald’s
PLDT
Meralco
Robinsons
PLDT
A PARADIGM SHIFT IN COMMUNICATIONS: TRUST IN MEDIA AND SOCIAL MEDIA Television networks, radio stations, and newspapers - the triad of traditional media - remain to be the most trusted media channels among Filipinos, far surpassing the over overall all level of trust in social media sites. The general public trusts
(both extreme and overall trust) most media channels more than their informed counterparts, with the sole exception of social media sites; while extreme trust in social media sites is slightly higher among the general public, overall trust in social media sites is signicantly higher (10pp) among informed Filipinos.
Trust in Media Medi a Channels (General Public vs. Informed Public) 100
45 52
50 56
75
54 56 49 37
50
48
46
51
39 41
44 32 35 32 25 24
21 15
18
14
15 12
11
0
G.P.
I.P.
TV Ne Netw twor orks ks
G.P.
I.P.
Radi Ra dio o St Stat atio ions ns
G.P.
I.P.
News Ne wspa pape pers rs
G.P.
I.P.
G.P.
I.P.
Soci So cial al Me Medi dia a Si Site tes s Onl Onlin ine e Ne News ws Si Site tes s
Mode Mo dera rate te Tru Trust st
G.P.
6
8
7
I.P.
G.P.
I.P.
Maga Ma gazi zine nes s
Blog Bl ogs s
Extrem Ext reme e Tru Trust st
The Philippine Trust Index | 7
What is interesting to note is that while only 49% of Filipinos have access to social media, those who are online trust in social media more than they trust media as an institution, the latter being primarily associated with traditional media. There are also more people who at out distrust the media than social media.
Trust and Distrust in Media M edia and Social Media among Social Media Users
24.1%
MEDIA
49.3%
21.4%
73.4%
87.3% SOCIAL MEDIA
29.3%
0.0%
58%
25.0%
E xt xt re re me me T ru ru st
50.0%
M od od er er at at e T ru ru st st
N eu eu tr tr al al
The Philippines’ Top Communicators: Who are Filipinos’ most trusted media personalities? General Public
Informed Public
Jessica Soho Vikki Morales Mike Enriquez Mel Tiangco Noli de Castro Bernadette Sembrano Ted Failon Karen Davila Julius Babao Korina Sanchez
Raffy Tulfo Jessica Soho Mel Tiangco Mike Enriquez Bernadette Sembrano Noli de Castro Ted Failon Julius Babao Karen Davila Korina Sanchez
12.2%
75.0%
M od ode ra ra te te D is is tr tr us us t
100.0%
Ex tr tr em em e D is is tr tr us us t
Among those who do trust social media, organic and personal posts by friends and family are the most trusted social media content, while social media influencers’’ content and influencers strangers’ posts shared by their network are the least trusted
PART II: WHAT DRIVES FILIPINOS TO TRUST? FILIPINOS WILL TRUST THE GOVERNMENT THAT IMPROVES THEIR EVERYDAY LIVES IN CONCRETE WAYS. Filipinos’ priorities remain unchanged since 2015, but people are far more satised with the government’s performance today. Filipinos still
value the government’s ability to ensure peace and security and to help the poor as the foremost drivers of trust in institutions. People also consider providing better job opportunities and putting corrupt politicians in jail as major drivers of trust. Taken together, this shows that Filipinos’ trust in the government is hinged on the institution’s ability to improve their everyday lives in concrete ways. What has changed in the last two years is how
Government Performance Ratings vis-a-vis Trust Trust Drivers 23
E C N A T R O P M I
43 22 40 25 42 25
F O L E V E L
47 20 38 34 46
satised Filipinos are with the government’s government’s
15 32
performance vis-a-vis these trust drivers. Filipinos
23
are most satised with how the government has been putting corrupt politicians in jail (47%),
36 16 28
preparing communities for disasters and calamities
24
(46%) and ensuring national security (43%). The
most radical increases are seen in the people’s satisfaction with the government’ government’s s economic prowess, prowe ss, particularly its ability to improve the Philippine economy (18pp) and to support industry development (17pp).
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| The Philippine Trust Index
37 19 30 0 Y2015
25
50 Y2017
75
100
THE PHILIPPINE PARADOX
FILIPINOS ARE MOST ATTENTIVE TO HOW BUSINESSES TREAT REGULAR PEOPLE, ESPECIALL ESPECIALLY Y THEIR THE IR EMPLO EM PLOYEES. YEES. For Filipinos, how businesses treat their employees employee s is the primary determinan determinantt of trust and distrust in the institution. Three of the ve most important drivers
Business Sector Performance Ratings vis-a-vis Trust Trust Drivers
of trust are tied to employee welfare, like providing good salaries and benets and
cultivating a fair and non-discriminatory workplace, while the other two are hinged on good customer service. This goes to show that more than corporate policies or leadership, people are more concerned about how businesses treat regular people - employees and customers alike. These trust drivers have consistently been the most important to Filipinos, but this year year,, more Filipinos believe that the business sector is faring far better today compared to two years ago. The general public rated the business sector’ sector’s s performance against trust drivers an average of 14pp higher than they did in
42
E C N A T R O P M I
48 41 41 39 43 39 41
F O L E V E L
38 41 37 41 37 40 35 41 35 37 34
2015. Filipinos are most satised with
37
the business sector’s performance in
33 33
the ve most important indicators as
well as against the trust driver “does
30
business well to increase prot”, but
34
the institution’s performance ratings improved the most for how businesses treat their employees - i.e., providing good
30 32 20
salaries and benets (15pp) and practicing
fair labor practices (14pp), including non-discrimination (14pp) - as well as for how the company treats the environment
40
G en en er er al al P ub ub li lic
60
80
100
I nf nf or or me me d P ub ub li li c
(14pp) and local suppliers (15pp).
FILIPINOS’ TRUST IN THE MEDIA IS HINGED ON THE INSTITUTION’S PERCEIVED INTEGRITY INTEGRITY,, OBJECTIVITY, OBJECTIVITY, AND COMPETENCE. It comes as no surprise that the drivers of trust in the media that are most valued by Filipinos focus on their integrity as professionals, and competence and objectivity as reporters of facts. While the
informed public rates the media’s performance vis-a-vis these trust drivers signicantly lower than
the general public, Filipinos are unanimously most satised with
the media’s competence and objectivity when reporting facts,
Media Performance Ratings vis-a-vis Trust Trust Drivers 47
E C N A T R O P M I
37 36 26 52 43
F O L E V E L
43 32 51 47
and unanimously least satised
44
with the media’s integrity.
37 45 41 39 34 26 24 22 21 0 G en en er er al al P ub ubl ic ic
25
50
75
100
In fo fo rm rm ed ed P ub ubl ic ic
The Philippine Trust Index | 9
TRUST DRIVERS IN THE CHURCH, ACADEME AND NGOS WHAT DRIVES TRUST IN THE CHURCH? 1.
Effectiveness Effectivene ss in teaching the religion
2.
Sound counsel of religious leaders
3.
Outreach programs
WHAT DRIVES TRUST IN NGOS? 1.
Freedom from corruption
2.
Effectiveness Effectivene ss in helping those in real need
3.
Freedom from political interests
WHAT DRIVES TRUST IN THE ACADEME? 1.
Effectiveness Effectivene ss in providing quality education
2.
Capability to teach good moral values
3.
Ability to provide free education
Visayans are least satisfied with the media’s integrity, objectivity and competence compared to all other regions in the Philippines. Visayans rated the media an average of 12pp lower than the national mean across all trust drivers, but the biggest gap was seen against the media’s concern about environmental issues (22pp), as well as the media’s ability to provide quality content (17pp) and present all concerned sides in the news (17pp).
PART III: WHA WHAT T DOES THIS MEAN FOR TRUTHTRUT H-TELLING? TELLING?
KEY INSIGHTS FROM THE PHILIPPINE TRUST INDEX 1.
Trust is built through repeated interactions. People can only truly trust what they know and understand. Whether it
be the government or the business sector, sector, the most trusted institutions and sub-institutions are those that Filipinos come in contact with the most. Frequent Frequent and meaningful engagement with stakeholders is thus an imperative in cultivating trust in a brand. Using multiple channels to tell a brand’s story is important in rst generating awareness
and eventually building trust-based relationships. 2.
Organizations must communicate tangible, relatable truths. While news of great corporate policies or m acroeconomic
success can improve an institution’s institution’s reputation among certain people, what the public at la rge care about most is how institutions can affect their daily lives in concrete ways. Stories that communicate how organizations can benet the
lives of regular Filipinos are more effective in building trust among the public. 3.
Social media has changed the way people deal with and trust in institutions. While traditional media is still important
in building credibility and reaching a wider audience, seeing that Filipinos on social media trust it more than media as an institution, it is critical that organizations also invest in digital communications. communications. Social media has democratized information dissemination, but the risk is likewise great that people would use social media in irresponsible or even malicious ways. This is why organizations should capitalize on social media to establish their own social media assets as ofcial sources of information, thus taking control of the conver conversations sations surrounding their brand.
4.
Filipinos generally trust institutions more today, which suggests that leaders of these key institutions are more
However er,, this rising ris ing trust in institutions is juxtaposed with an apparent lack inuential now than in the last few years. Howev of social trust am ong Filipinos. In fact, social media conversations in the Philippines suggest that Filipinos consider others who do not share their views and opinions with extreme distrust. This is worrying because social trust has been linked to social cohesion, improved safety and security 1, and more stable and democratic societies2. To develop our society, society, it is thus crucial that leaders in society harness their inuence and take advantage advantage of the momentum of
growing trust to cultivate trust among Filipinos, not just in institutions but in each other. other.
1 - Of Risk, Uncertainty, Safety, Safety, and Trus Trust: t: (Re)Locating Human Insecurities by Victor King (2016) 2 - System of Trust Trust as a Basis for a Safe and Secure Society by Kiyoshi Abe, et al (2010)
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| The Philippine Trust Index
ON-THE-NET VS. ON-THE-GROUND: DOES SOCIAL MEDIA BUZZ REFLECT PUBLIC SENTIMENTS? While only about half of Filipinos are online and active on social media, recent events events have proven that whatever is trending on social media can impact the country in very tangible ways. Using Groundswell™, Groundswell™, EON’s proprietary proprietary and award-winning social media listening tool, we tuned in on online conve conversations rsations from June 2016 to June 2017 to nd out how Filipinos talk about trust
in the six institutions. We found out that while social media conversations capture capture only part of the picture, they nonetheless reect on-the-ground realities about Filipino trust. Out of the six institutions, the Government (11,394), the Media (3,298) and the Church (2,006) were
the most meaningfully discussed on social media, meaning the institutions were mentioned in posts that were relevant relevant to the overall topic of trust in institutions, even though the Business Sector (6,721) and the Academe (3,833) garnered more mentions
than the latter two. WHEN WE DUG DEEPER, WE FOUND THESE THREE HIGHLIGHTS HIGHLIGHTS FROM SOCIAL MEDIA:
1. The government government was the most discussed institution on social media, and it also had the smallest share of negative mentions out of all the times it factored into conversations compared to other institutions. Going down to the level of sub-institutions, the Ofce of the President President (37%) (37%) and the Ofce of the Vice President President (29%) were the most mentioned, mentioned,
with the former garnering the most positive sentiments and the latter latter,, the most negative. negative.
Sentiment Meter: Institutions on Social Media
Share of Voice: Government Sub-Institutions 7.0%
Church
42
Government
42
38
20
34
37.0%
24.0%
24
OP OVP Cabinet
Media 3
83
14
Senate
29.0%
Local Government House of Representatives
Posi Po siti tive ve
Nega Ne gati tive ve
Ombudsman
Neut Ne utra rall
2. The majority of online conversations about both the church and the media focused on government-related topics, and these were also from where the negative sentiments of Filipino netizens stemmed. For the church, most of these
government-related posts centered on peace and security issues (e.g government-related (e.g., ., war on drugs, death penalty penalty,, extrajudicial killings), while for the media, the posts were largely about government personalities and often in the context of these personalities lambasting the media.
Topics of Conversations about the Church
Topics of Conversations about the Media 34%
23%
66% 66 %
77% 77 % Religion-Related Posts
Trust in Media as an Institution
Government-Related Government-Re lated Issues
Government-Related Government-Relate d Issues
The Roman Catholic Church (55% of total mentions) was the most mentioned by Filipinos online. It was followed by non-denominational Christianity (25%), Islam (12%) and Iglesia Ni Cristo (8%).
3. Out of all the issues covered by the different trust drivers of the six institutions, peace and security were the most discussed online - and - and not just in relation to the government, but to the church and to the media as well. More specically, specically, the
Marawi and Martial Law issues were the most discussed by people online, followed by the death penalty penalty,, extra-judicial killings, war on drugs and violent groups like the Abu Sayyaf and the NPA.
Share of Voice: Peace and Security 11%
Peace and Security Conversation Topics 8%
12%
10%
26%
Church Government
11%
Media
11%
77%
18% 16%
The Philippine Trust Index | 11
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About EON The EON Group is a fully integrat integrated ed communications agency committed to the vision of truth-telling as a compelling instrument for meaningful and lasting change. Through the years, EON focused on achieving synergies among its four practice areas - Corporate and Marketing public relations (EON PR), reputation management and public affairs (ENGAGE), creative technology (DIG), and experiential marketing (TANGERINE). (TANGERINE). Fuelled Fuelled by highly highl y specialized and diverse disciplines, The EON Group champions imaginative storytelling that is grounded rmly on data and analytics. As a leading
communications agency in the ASEAN region, the company has been shortlisted by the Holmes Report for three consecutive years as Southeast Asia Consultancy of the Year. It is also the recipient of the two ASEAN Business Awards in 2013 and is the lone Philippine rm in Global PRWeek’s Agency Business Report for 2016 and 2017.
CONTACT CONTA CT US: U S:
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| The Philippine Trust Index