Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s dominant allies in the Philippine Congress on Wednesday dismissed the fourth impeachment complaint filed against her in as many years for alleged corruption and other crimes.
Opposition leaders vowed to try to impeach her again in next year — a year before her term ends — and some warned of other options, including a nonviolent “people power” revolt,” to remove her from office.
“Our day will come,” Representative Ronaldo Zamora said after resting the opposition’s case, which accused Arroyo of corruption, abuse of power and violations of the Constitution and human rights.
As in three other failed impeachment bids, Arroyo’s allies in the House of Representatives’ Justice Committee used their superior numbers to dismiss the 103-page complaint on a technicality by a vote of 42-8.
Pro-Arroyo Representative Edcel Lagman said the opposition had only resurrected old allegations.
“The hearse of exhumed carcasses must be led back to the graveyard,” Lagman told the committee.
Opposition Representative Teodoro Casino warned that blocking democratic avenues to remove Arroyo may impel Filipinos to resort to another “people power” uprising, as they did to oust former Philippine presidents Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and Joseph Estrada in 2001.
“They’re courting danger by not allowing this democratic search for truth,” Casino said.
Arroyo succeeded Estrada in 2001, then won her own six-year term in 2004 in a vote that the opposition claimed she and her aides rigged.
A highlight of days of heated nationally televised impeachment debate was the appearance of Arroyo’s former political backer, ex-house speaker Jose de Venecia, who accused her on Monday of bribing him and other lawmakers to ensure the defeat of an impeachment complaint last year.
Arroyo is the longest-serving head of state since Marcos, but surveys have consistently ranked her the most unpopular.
The military is to begin conscripting civilians next year, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said yesterday, citing rising tensions with Thailand as the reason for activating a long-dormant mandatory enlistment law. The Cambodian parliament in 2006 approved a law that would require all Cambodians aged 18 to 30 to serve in the military for 18 months, although it has never been enforced. Relations with Thailand have been tense since May, when a long-standing territorial dispute boiled over into cross-border clashes, killing one Cambodian soldier. “This episode of confrontation is a lesson for us and is an opportunity for us to review, assess and
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