BY REGINA BENGCO

FORTY-SIX percent of Filipinos are not sure whether President Arroyo’s upcoming State of the Nation (SONA) would be truthful, while 40 percent expect it to be "untruthful," the July 1-14 survey of Pulse Asia showed.

The survey, which polled 1,200 respondents aged 18 and above, said 60 percent or six out of 10 the respondents said they were aware of past editions of Arroyo’s SONA.

Of the 60 percent, 40 percent were expecting Monday’s SONA to be untruthful, 46 percent were undecided about the speech while only 14 percent said they expected it to be truthful.

Among those who said the 2008 SONA would not be truthful, 50 percent came from Mindanao, 38 percent each from Luzon and the Visayas, and 37 percent from Metro Manila.

The biggest number of those who are not sure whether the SONA would be truthful came from Luzon (52 percent), followed by Visayas (47 percent), Metro Manila (45 percent), and Mindanao (35 percent).

The level of indecision showed mostly in Class ABC (49 percent), followed by Class D (47 percent), and Class E (43 percent). Most of those who said it would not be truthful came from Classes D and E (42 percent).

Pulse Asia said public skepticism about the President’s SONA "appears to have become stronger and now makes it difficult for her to maximize her forthcoming SONA’s political value."

It said while the level of public indecision dropped from 55 percent in July 2007 to 46 percent in July 2008, there was an "11-point increase in the proportion of people anticipating that her 2008 SONA is not going to be truthful."

Unfortunately for Arroyo, Pulse Asia said, the 14 percent of people who believe that her upcoming SONA would be truthful "cannot possibly represent much political capital for her and her administration."

Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said skeptics should first listen to Arroyo’s SONA and then verify on the ground if her facts are correct.