MANILA, Philippines -- From the skyscrapers of Makati and the parliament of the streets, to the groves of academe, even in police stations and military camps, calls are mounting for the resignation of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Commission on Higher Education Chair Romulo Neri, Philippine National Police Director General Avelino Razon Jr. and Environment Secretary Lito Atienza. Or, all of the above.

Another influential business group Thursday added its voice to the swelling criticism against the administration, asking rhetorically if the time is right for Filipinos to ask Ms Arroyo to step down.

In a statement, the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) said it was ?compelled to speak out in the face of the frequency of corruption cases and scandals that have been growing in scope and intensity.?

Its statement comes two days after the Makati Business Club (MBC) -- an organization with which MAP shares many business personalities as members -- expressed its support for whistle-blower Rodolfo Noel Lozada Jr. and called on Atienza and Neri to step down for allegedly trying to obstruct Lozada?s exposé on the scrapped $329-million National Broadband Network (NBN) deal with China?s ZTE Corp.

The scams and controversies under the Arroyo administration outlined by the MAP were the Joc-joc Bolante fertilizer scam, the General Garcia case, the Jose Pidal scandal, the Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard, the North and South Rail projects and the ?Hello Garci? tape.

Litany of cases

The MAP also cited the reported ?shameless? distribution of cash gifts to lawmakers and governors in Malacañang, the questionable procurement of textbooks for public schools and of helicopters by the Department of Defense and of X-ray machines by the Bureau of Customs, the Commission on Elections? MegaPacific computer deal, and now the ?scandalously overpriced? NBN-ZTE deal.

?That these cases can happen in a bureaucracy that is supposedly protected and sometimes immobilized by an elaborate set of checks and balances indicates a serious breakdown in public governance, marked by either inability to execute or the outright unwillingness to perform what is expected of leaders and managers,? the group said.

?If the President?s men involved in abuse of authority and alleged anomalies refuse to heed the call for their resignation, should they not be removed from office by the President herself?? the MAP asked.

?If the President fails to act, can we conclude that she is either tolerating grave wrongdoing or is not in control??

Is it time?

In either case, under the principle of command responsibility, would it be time for all of us to join in asking the President to step down?? the MAP said.

The MAP is headed by former Philippine Ambassador to the Washington Alberto del Rosario who was replaced in 2006 allegedly after differences with the Arroyo administration?s policies vis-à-vis the United States.

Other leaders of the business group include Pilipinas Shell chair and president Edgar O. Chua, accountant Baltazar N. Endriga, Figaro Coffee CEO Pacita U. Juan, Unilab Group president and CEO Carlos C. Ejercito, architect Felino A. Palafox Jr., businessmen Senen C. Bacani and Franco G. Del Rosario, and former Finance Secretary and ?Hyatt 10? leader Cesar V. Purisima.

The group called on the Arroyo administration ?to rise above its personal self-interests? by encouraging Neri ?and providing him with the appropriate protection? to appear in the Senate and to reveal all he knows about the ZTE issue.

?We call on the military and the police to support the people and the Constitution, and not allow themselves to be used by those who continually violate the oath of public office and betray the people?s trust for their personal aggrandizement,? the MAP said.

It also called on religious leaders ?to finally speak out in thunderous language and condemn the moral degradation of our government bureaucracy.?

After stalling on the NBN deal, Neri has lost the confidence of the faculty of the University of the Philippines.

UP professors on Thursday asked Neri to step down as chair of the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd), and the UP Board of Regents out of a sense of ?shame.?

Neri has ?lost the moral high ground? to oversee the higher education system, said the professors, part of the UP faculty members from around the country who signed an online petition calling for his resignation.

?I?m asking Chairman Neri to have a sense of shame, and voluntarily step down as chair of CHEd and the UP Board of Regents,? Prof. Harry Roque of the UP College of Law said at a press briefing.

Roque accused Neri of being a traitor to truth and good governance.

The professors were the latest to call for the resignation of Neri, who has come under fire for evading attempts by senators to get him to further testify on the controversial NBN deal. He has so far ignored the calls.

Cowardly bureaucrat

In the petition, the faculty from several UP campuses said Neri had turned himself from a ?cowardly bureaucrat? into someone who has become a ?beneficiary of a hopelessly corrupt system.?

In the process, Neri has ?lost whatever trace of credibility? he may have had as a career official, they said.

?The day of hearts is the day of love. But in our situation here, the day of hearts is also the day of love for our country, love for our people and love for the truth,? Prof. Judy Taguiwalo said at the same briefing Thursday, Valentine?s Day.

The Arroyo administration has none of this, according to Taguiwalo. ?She has no love for the country, no love for the people, and love for the truth,? said the president of the UP Academic Union.

Taguiwalo said the same applied to Neri.

Dr. Sylvia Estrada-Claudio, director of the Center for Women?s Studies at UP, said it was everyone?s civic duty to call for the resignation of Neri and other officials.

?If we are convinced that Neri, and other officials, including the President, are involved in corruption, then we should call for their resignation,? she said.

Prof. Malou Alcid of the UP College of Social Work and Development, however, said that Neri ?should tell the truth? before he steps down.

Rally in Makati

The petition would be presented to the UP Board of Regents, UP?s highest policy making body.

The UP professors and students said they would join Friday?s mass actions in Makati City in support of Lozada, who they said came clean on the NBN deal in his testimonies in the Senate.

?We salute Lozada, who is from UST (University of Santo Tomas) and who stood up for the truth, unlike Romulo Neri who is a graduate of UP,? Taguiwalo said.

Dr. Rose Torres-Yu of the UP College of Arts and Letters said she felt it was her responsibility to come out and join the move ?to restore the country?s integrity.?

?We are seeing how our dignity as a nation is being violated with impunity. Here in UP, we continue to serve the country despite the meager pay,? she said.

?After listening to Lozada?s testimony, it?s clear that if we don?t act now, come out and express what we feel, the corruption will continue,? Torres-Yu said.

Piso para kay Lozada

The professors also launched a fund-raising campaign, dubbed ?Piso para kay Lozada, Piso para sa Katotohanan,? for the witness and his family.

The state university teachers were joined by the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines-National Capital Region (CEAP-NCR) in asking Neri to put an end to his ?deafening silence? and tell the truth on the ZTE contract.

At a press conference, CEAP-NCR said it would launch a signature campaign to enlist public support and ?pressure? Neri to testify in the Senate.

Watch and Pray Movement

Msgr. Gerry Santos, CEAP director for NCR and a convenor of the Watch and Pray Movement, said Catholic school teachers and students wanted Neri ?to come out and testify truthfully? to help the people in their continuing search for truth.

?We ask you to speak the truth and not cover yourself with executive privilege. Your silence is deafening,? said Santos to Neri.

CEAP is one of the five multi-sectoral groups under the Church-led Watch and Pray Movement that has provided Lozada with sanctuary when he decided to testify in the Senate on the NBN contract.

The other groups are the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), Manila Archdiocesan and Parochial Schools Association (MAPSA), Association of the Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines (AMRSP), and the Ateneo de Manila University?s Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan.

Amid moves to discredit Lozada, the CEAP-NCR said it was giving its full support to the star witness because it believed in his testimony and integrity.

Not whole truth

Lozada?s disclosures have satisfied the public?s clamor for truth, according to Santos.

But Santos said Lozada?s revelations formed only part of the truth behind the controversial ZTE contract. ?He is not the whole truth, he is not the ?major starrer? in this picture,? said Santos.

Thus, he said, the CEAP-NCR was encouraging other officials, who may know something about the anomalous contract, to come out and tell the truth.

The AMRSP is pooling a special fund to support witnesses like Lozada who will likewise seek sanctuary from the Church.

The educators and students of Catholic schools in Metro Manila are not expected to join the anti-Arroyo rallies on Friday since they are still carefully discerning the issue.

Truth centers

In response to the Catholic Bishops? Conference of the Philippines? (CBCP) call for ?communal action,? Santos said the CEAP-NCR would launch truth centers in schools where students, teachers, and church men and women could gather to talk about the issues hounding the administration.

The framework that the bishops set when they called for communal action, he said, was one that will bring about deeper change and not just mere leadership change.