Manila - A Philippine congressional committee on Wednesday junked an impeachment complaint against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo after three days of heated debate. The committee voted 42-8 to dismiss the complaint, the fourth to be filed against Arroyo since 2005.
In a bid to persuade the committee to find the complaint sufficient, House Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora said Arroyo should be given a chance to answer the charges against her.
"It is in the interest of the nation - it is in the interest of the president herself that the issues in this complaint be answered," he said.
But the committee, dominated by Arroyo allies, found the complaint contained "recycled" allegations that it previously had dismissed.
Congressman Edcel Lagman summarized the position of those who opposed the impeachment complaint, saying it was "bereft of ultimate facts."
"Exhumed carcasses must be laid back to the graveyard," he said.
Businessman Joey De Venecia III, the main complainant in the impeachment case, vowed to push the case despite the committee's decision.
"I assure everyone that the committee cannot stop us from airing our grievances and allegations in any and all other forms available to us," he said.
"We will not keep quiet," he added. "The fight in the halls of Congress may be over, but the real fight for truth and justice goes on."
De Venecia III is a son of former Arroyo ally Congressman Jose De Venecia, who testified Monday that the president had been bribing lawmakers for protection against impeachment.
The former House speaker also accused Arroyo of being involved in an anomalous 329-million-dollar national broadband contract with a Chinese firm, which was eventually scrapped.
In the complaint, Arroyo was also accused of graft and corruption, violation of the constitution, betrayal of public trust and electoral fraud.
