MANILA, Philippines -- More than 1,200 faculty members of the University of the Philippines (UP) in Diliman, Quezon City, have closed ranks to join the call for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo?s resignation amid serious allegations of bribery and corruption in the $329-million National Broadband Network (NBN) deal with China?s ZTE Corp.

In several schools in Metro Manila and in at least nine cities in the provinces, students have also reportedly unveiled streamers declaring ?GMA-Free? and ?Truth? zones.

The University Council of UP Diliman, which is composed of professors and assistant professors, agreed to call for the President?s resignation in a meeting on Wednesday. Days earlier, the council asked Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) Chair Romulo Neri to quit in connection with the NBN scandal.

2nd time

?This is the second time that the University Council of UP Diliman has called on President Arroyo to resign. The first time was at the height of the ?Hello Garci? [controversy] in 2005,? said UP Prof. Danilo Arao of the Department of Journalism in a phone interview.

He was referring to wiretapped conversations between Ms Arroyo and then Election Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano during the 2004 presidential campaign, alleging that she stole the polls. Both the President and Garcillano denied the charge.

UP administration officials were involved in the council meeting ?because most of them are actually faculty members,? Arao said.

Makati rally

Arao said a good number of faculty members would join Friday?s interfaith rally in Makati City, one of the many mass actions organized to protest Ms Arroyo?s alleged involvement in the NBN deal. Ms Arroyo is a former member of the University Council, having taught at the UP School of Economics.

The council called on Neri to resign as chair of CHEd and the UP Board of Regents ?despite his being a UP graduate and his being a government official.?

?This (controversy) is the one that ruined him. We don?t want the stench to rub off on UP,? Arao said.

After exposing then Commission on Elections Chair Benjamin Abalos? bribe offer of P200 million to him when he was chair of the National Economic and Development Authority, Neri has clammed up on senators? inquiries on Ms Arroyo?s involvement in the deal. The NBN project was then being evaluated by NEDA.

?Web of lies?

?Despite GMA?s (Ms Arroyo?s) insistence that she does not tolerate corruption, she has been forced by public pressure to admit that she knew about the kickbacks long before the Senate investigations on the NBN-ZTE deal,? the council said in a statement.

?As a result, she has entrapped herself in a web of lies. When GMA is caught lying, she either stonewalls or orders an investigation which churns out prefabricated results,? the council said.

?These actions are in stark contrast with two objectives which are cherished by the university --getting at the truth and forging a democratic society. Both of these are obviously anathema to GMA.?

Her acts are ?a direct assault on nearly all the values we hold sacred in the academe,? the council said.

Students in Metro Manila and in several provinces belonging to more than 50 organizations have also called on the Arroyo administration to ?stop covering up the truth? as they launched simultaneous protest actions.

A check by the Philippine Daily Inquirer bureaus showed ?GMA-Free? and ?GMA Resign? streamers have been put up at the Liceo de Cagayan, Xavier University and Capital University in Cagayan de Oro City, and in Assumption of Davao College in Davao City. A ?Tell the Truth? streamer hang at the Ateneo de Davao University in Davao.

Crusade for truth

The Youth Act Now! coalition described the white outfit many students wore as the ?symbol of the youth?s crusade for truth, accountability and hope.?

?Anti-GMA? pins, bracelets, headgear and armbands were also displayed.

In some schools, students installed ?punching bags and dart boards versus corruption,? as well as ?freedom walls.?

At the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Sta. Mesa, Manila, NBN-ZTE deal whistle-blower Rodolfo Noel Lozada Jr. addressed a student rally before the state-run school unveiled a streamer announcing a ?GMA-Free? zone. With reports from Jerry E. Esplanada and Inquirer Mindanao