MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATE 2) Anticipating an explosive revelation from his witness, Senator Panfilo Lacson called on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to resign.

“If there's any more moral fiber left in GMA's [Arroyo’s initial] body, she should resign now and allow the Filipino people to express their choice via a fresh mandate. A snap election may very well prevent a destabilization effort and worse, an unconstitutional takeover by some interest groups,” he said in a text message.

Lacson's call went a step further than the appeal of blue ribbon committee chairman Alan Peter Cayetano who called on Arroyo to take a leave from office while the Senate was looking deeper into her culpability in the controversial national broadband network (NBN) agreement.

But Senate President Manny Villar expressed doubts whether Arroyo would heed the senators' call for her to step down or resign considering how she fought tooth and nail to stay in power.

Cayetano explained he wanted the President to take a leave of absence to allow the freer conduct of the Senate inquiry into Lozada's abduction.

“If [Arroyo is] not guilty, makakabalik ka pa [to office]. Baka guilty kaya natatakot na di makabalik [If she’s not guilty, you can return. Maybe she’s guilty, which is why she’s afraid she might not return],” Cayetano said.

He said two things kept the government from harming Lozada -- media's vigilance and “they thought [Lozada] will testify for them.”

Cayetano reminded Malacañang that Lozada “is not our witness. We did not put him as consultant to the ZTE.”

He said he has been calling for a “calm, peaceful, non-violent means to get at the truth.”