The Valentine’s Day statement of concerned faculty members of the University of the Philippines (UP) says it all:
It is an embarrassment for us that, as chair of CHED [Commission on Higher Education], he also sits as chair of the UP Board of Regents. He does not deserve to be identified with higher education institutions like UP. The celebration of the centennial of the UP carries the slogan “UP, Ang Galing Mo!” All we can say to Neri at this point is “Neri, Ang Gulang Mo!“
Why are we not demanding that Neri tell the truth about the controversial national broadband network (NBN) project? At this point, we should not harbor any illusion that he will come out into the open regarding what he knows, particularly his conversation with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Isn’t his objective in securing a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the Supreme Court a way to avoid testifying once more in the Senate? Unlike his friend and colleague Jun Lozada who decided to come clean with his involvement no matter what the cost, Neri has chosen to be silent in order to protect the powers-that-be.
For details about what transpired during the press conference yesterday at Vinzons Hall, UP Diliman, please go to page 3 of today’s issue of the Philippine Star and look for the article titled “UP faculty want Neri to resign from board.” Feel free to also read the front-page article of today’s issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer titled “Calls mounting for Arroyo, Neri, Atienza to quit.”
Arkibong Bayan also has the full text of the press release and press statement of the concerned UP faculty members, as well as photographs of the February 14 activity.
For UP faculty members who want to read the petition calling for Neri’s resignation, please go to URL http://www.petitiononline.com/gmabye2/petition.html. Just click the “Sign the Petition” link if you want to include your signature.
As of today (February 15, 2:30 p.m.), there are already 95 signatories to the online version. We hope to submit the petition to UP President Emerlinda Roman in time for the next UP BOR meeting on February 29.
That’s all for now. Thank you for reading!