The Philippine lower house of Congress began an impeachment process against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Thursday, but analysts said the complaint appeared designed to protect her from more substantial charges. It is the third year in a row that Arroyo has faced impeachment proceedings.
The previous two, which were linked to alleged cheating in the 2004 presidential election, were quashed because of her overwhelming majority in the House of Representatives.
This year too, her allies dominate the House. Opposition politicians have said this impeachment motion, launched by a little-known lawyer, may have the blessings of the administration, since under Philippine law it would preclude any other complaint for another 12 months. "This in an attempt to vaccinate the president from a more solid impeachment case," said Ronaldo Zamora, the opposition leader in the House of Representatives.
Jose de Venecia Jr, speaker of the House of Representatives, asked one of his deputies to get the impeachment process rolling, removing himself from the proceedings to avoid accusations by critics of possible conflict of interest. "Let it not be said that I am doing this to seek any personal leverage or to await the filing of any other impeachment complaint," de Venecia told reporters.
Sergio Apostol, Arroyo's chief legal counsel, said he expected the impeachment motion to fail because it had no basis and no support from the majority of the lawmakers. Arroyo's spokesman, Ignacio Bunye, described the impeachment case as a "distraction" but added it would not affect the president. "She has a nation to govern and there are more important matters which she has to attend," he said. The complaint has been sent to the justice committee of the house, which will decide after a three-week recess whether to put it before the full house or reject it outright.
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