MANILA, Philippines—Students and teachers over the weekend said they would launch a text messaging and e-mail campaign to urge employees of private companies to reject the appointment of Romulo Neri as head of the Social Security System.

The militant League of Filipino Students and the Alliance of Concerned Teachers described Neri as a “cowardly bureaucrat” with “zero credibility.”

Neri earned the ire of various student and teacher groups when he refused to answer questions at a Senate inquiry on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s response to his report of a bribe offer to approve the $329-million National Broadband Network deal. He pleaded “executive privilege” in his communications with the President.

Other organizations like Anakbayan, College Editors Guild of the Philippines and National Union of Students of the Philippines said Neri had “lost whatever trace of credibility” he may have had as a career official.

Conversely, the 170-member Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities (PACU) said it was happy Neri was being transferred out of the Commission on Higher Education.

Lawyer Gonzalo Duque, PACU president, had called for Neri’s replacement, accusing him of “playing deaf and blind” to tertiary education concerns. Jerry E. Esplanada