THE TRUST ECONOMY: TIWALA ANG PUHUNAN SA GITNA NG PAGSUBOK Filipinos trust business only on probation; price tops reasons for distrust

The EON Group and Ateneo release the first Philippine Business Trust Index: 72.0 out of 100, with no sector reaching Robust Trust

The EON Group’s 2026 Philippine Trust Study, developed in partnership with the Department of Sociology and Anthropology (DSA) and the Institute of Philippine Culture (IPC) of Ateneo de Manila University, finds that public trust in Philippine business remains conditional, with an overall score of 72.0 out of 100 in the first Philippine Business Trust Index. No business sector reached the Robust Trust category nationally, while concerns about prices emerged as the leading reason Filipinos distrust businesses. The findings come as headline inflation reached 7.8% in October 2026, adding pressure to household spending and putting greater scrutiny on the value businesses deliver.

Price-related concerns featured prominently among respondents who identified a least-trusted sector. These included prices perceived as too high or unreasonable (19.7%), unclear prices or fees (14.7%), and hidden charges (11.7%). On the other hand, value for money was cited by 18.6% as a reason for trusting their most-trusted sector. Together, the findings point to the importance of making the relationship between price, value, and the customer experience clear.

“Are customers staying because they trust a business, or because they have no other choice? Businesses are part of the systems that keep our country moving, but being essential to people’s everyday lives does not make a business trustworthy. Filipinos should not have to keep absorbing the cost of poor value and unclear pricing. It is up to businesses to give people real reasons to choose them, and to keep choosing them,” said Malyn Molina, President and COO of the EON Group.

What earns trust

The study examined 16 attributes of business trustworthiness, with honesty emerging as the leading priority: 34.6% of respondents ranked it first. It was followed by product and service quality, competence, social or interpersonal trust, genuine care, and accountability and transparency.

The contrast with symbolic reputation is telling. Reputation ranked last among the 16 attributes, and only 6.8% of respondents cited it as a reason for trusting their most-trusted sector. This does not mean reputation is irrelevant. Rather, the findings suggest that reputation alone does not establish trustworthiness; it reflects the confidence businesses build through their actions, the quality of their offerings, and the consistency of their relationships with stakeholders. Put simply, reputation is the receipt, not the reason. People want resibo: proof that businesses are honest, deliver what they promise, and stand behind what they offer.

“The prominence of honesty in the findings is significant. It tells us that Filipinos place great importance on whether businesses can be trusted to deal with them truthfully. But honesty is not judged in isolation. It is reinforced—or undermined—by the quality of products and services, the consistency of what businesses deliver, and how they treat the people affected by their decisions,” said Wilfred Luis Clamor, PhD at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Ateneo de Manila University.

Across the nine sectors examined, Food and Agriculture, Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals, and Commerce, E-Commerce, and Retail formed the top tier, each scoring around 75. The differences between their scores are too small to establish a meaningful ranking within this group.

At the lower end, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Information and Communications Technology (ICT), and Tourism and Travel both scored 68.6, while Real Estate and Construction recorded 67.7. All three fall within the Fragile Trust category. The findings suggest that distrust is not concentrated in one bad industry. Rather, it is tied to specific business behaviors, with price-related concerns leading the reasons cited by respondents.

FinTech recorded a score of 70.8, placing it close to the boundary between 61-70 and 71-80 trust score bands. This finding offers an additional perspective on public confidence amidst an increasingly digital business environment, where trust is shaped not only by convenience and accessibility, but also by transparency, security, and the protection of consumers.

The business case for trust

The findings also show that trust is not determined by company size alone. Large enterprises scored 72.3 on the Philippine Business Trust Index, compared with 71.7 for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The 0.6-point difference falls within the study’s margin of error, indicating comparable levels of reported public confidence.

Beyond the survey results, business representatives in the study’s focus group discussions described how trust can have practical implications for business. They cited the experience of companies with clean compliance records being given regulatory green lanes, including cases where license validity was extended from one year to three. They also observed that trusted brands may be better positioned to retain customers and hold their share even when prices rise. These are perspectives shared by participants, rather than quantified outcomes measured by the survey.

The study’s discussions with workers and regulators also highlighted the importance of consistency between what organizations promise and what they do. Workers pointed to fair treatment and management accountability, while regulators emphasized accurate reporting and compliance. These perspectives reinforce the importance of how businesses operate and meet their obligations, beyond the messages they communicate publicly.

A nationwide study on business trust

The 2026 Philippine Trust Study combines a nationally representative survey of 800 Filipino adults across 160 barangays in 84 cities and towns, with a margin of error of ±3.5 percentage points for percentages and conducted through face-to-face survey interviews, with focus group discussions involving 82 participants and key informant interviews with 18 business executives. The research examined trust perceptions across business sectors, enterprise sizes, population groups, and stakeholder experiences.

Fieldwork took place from May to August 2026. The study is descriptive and exploratory: its survey findings reflect reported perceptions rather than independently verified assessments of business conduct, while its qualitative findings provide context from participating stakeholders.

EON began examining public trust in the Philippines in 2011. Earlier editions, published as the Philippine Trust Index, reported the percentage of Filipinos who said they trusted each institution rather than computing an index score. This distinction informed the transition to the Philippine Trust Study, with the 2026 edition introducing the first Philippine Business Trust Index and establishing a baseline for understanding and tracking trustworthiness across nine major business sectors.

“Tiwala ang puhunan. That begins with katapatan: a business that keeps its promises and treats people the way it says it will. In a trust economy, businesses cannot afford to separate what they say from what they do,,” Molina concluded.