RP's Arroyo seeks unity as impeachment bid dropped

RP's Arroyo seeks unity as impeachment bid dropped

Cecil Morella, Agence France-Presse/Manila

A relieved President Gloria Arroyo urged the Philippine people on
Tuesday to rally behind her as the legislature killed off an
opposition attempt to impeach her for election fraud, ending a
three-month crisis which has paralyzed her government.

After a marathon overnight session, 158 lawmakers in the 236-
seat House of Representatives voted to ratify the House justice
committee's decision last week to reject three separate
impeachment complaints.

However the opposition, which mustered just 51 votes,
immediately warned they may challenge the legality of the House
vote in the Supreme Court.

"We are very sad. The impeachment move in Congress is dead and
buried. Taking the case to the Supreme Court is an option, but
pressure should be kept up on Arroyo," opposition legislator
Teodoro Casino told AFP.

"But whether or not it goes there, the public must be
involved," he said, adding that street protests would continue
against the government.

Arroyo hailed the Filipino people's "grand display of maturity
that seals our stability and resilience as a nation."

To the opposition she offered "my hand in reconciliation for
the national interest."

The defeat of the impeachment moves marked a "glorious day in
history," she said.

A crowd of around 5,000 demonstrators led by former president
Corazon Aquino and two defeated candidates from last year's
disputed presidential election marched on parliament, chanting
slogans for Arroyo to step down and denouncing what they called
the "railroading of the impeachment move."

Around 1,000 riot police, backed by soldiers, blocked the road
to parliament to prevent violence. There have been clashes
between protesters and police in recent days as lawmakers debated
Arroyo's fate.

Allegations that Arroyo rigged her re-election have dogged her
government since June and led around a dozen close allies to
resign from her cabinet and demand that she step down.

The crisis began with the leak of an audiotape on which a
woman sounding like Arroyo told a man thought to be a senior
election official to fix the outcome of the polls.

Arroyo has strongly denied any wrongdoing and has repeatedly
rebuffed calls to resign. However she has said she made a mistake
by calling an electoral official before the result of the voting
had been announced.

House Speaker Jose de Venecia, a key Arroyo ally, urged his
colleagues to draw a line under the crisis following the vote and
called on the people to rally behind the president.

"While our own President Arroyo has many faults," de Venecia
said, "the fact remains that she is still our best option in the
country."

He said sending the impeachment case to the upper house of
parliament, the Senate, for a full trial would have been a
"terrible mistake" which would have brought the legislature to a
standstill and further divided the country.

The justice committee, which was dominated by Arroyo allies,
had rejected the impeachment complaints mainly because of
technicalities.

Opposition leaders insisted a full Senate trial was vital so
that all the evidence of electoral fraud could be clearly laid
out before the people.

The impeachment motions also alleged Arroyo's family was
involved in illegal gambling and that human rights have been
violated since she has been in office.