Philippine legislators yesterday quashed the impeachment case against Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, leaving the streets as the court of last resort for the frustrated opposition.
Despite suggestions that mass protests loomed, initial public reaction was muted, as it has been throughout the political crisis that erupted in June over allegations that Arroyo rigged last year's election.
While 10,000 people turned out for an anti-Arroyo protest led by former president Corazon Aquino, that was a tiny fraction of the "people power" revolts that ousted two presidents in the last two decades, and the protest quickly lost steam, with the protesters dispersing at dusk.
The death last December of action film star Fernando Poe Jr., the runner-up to Arroyo in May last year, has left the opposition without a popular figure to rally around.
Ecstatic
Arroyo was ecstatic, thanking people for not supporting calls to oust her by force.
"The Filipino people mark a glorious day in history, when instead of forcing a president out of office through `people power,' they chose to keep a president through voting in the halls of constitutional democracy," she said in a statement.
She also spoke of reconciliation, which didn't seem likely anytime soon, with opposition legislators saying Arroyo's allies used their overwhelming dominance in the House of Representatives to keep the case from getting a fair hearing.
The decision could prolong the debilitating crisis that has gripped the nation and tainted the image of the US-trained economist, who has tried to revive the flagging economy during her four-and-a-half years in office.
"There was no closure on the issues raised against the president and the economy would suffer most," Senate majority leader Francis Pangilinan said as both the stock market and the peso fell.
Rule of law
"The public wanted the rule of law observed, they wanted a believable process. But this was denied them. So what can we expect from a disgruntled public?" he asked.
The House of Representatives -- overwhelmingly dominated by pro-Arroyo legislators -- voted 158-51, with six legislators abstaining and 21 absent, to uphold the House justice committee's decision to reject the complaints alleging Arroyo rigged the election, was involved in corruption and condoned human-rights violations.
The vote appeared to contradict the opposition's claims that it was only a few votes short of the 79 that it needed to send the case directly to the Senate for trial.
The nationally televised session dragged on for about 23 hours -- one of the longest ever -- and was marked by an intense debate and impassioned pleas from several opposition lawmakers.
Later, anti-Arroyo lawmakers stood, then shook hands and embraced each other, one wiping away tears.
"They did everything to hide the truth, to kill the impeachment charges," opposition Senator Sergio Osmena said.
"But they cannot hide the truth forever," he said.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from