MANILA, Philippines -- Facing a new impeachment complaint, President Macapagal-Arroyo is urging Filipinos to set aside "political differences" in the face of a global financial crunch, and to cheer up as the Christmas season sets in.

The President aired the call during Friday night's inauguration of the building and studio of the GMA Network Center Annex in Quezon City.

"Our people must come together this holiday season to celebrate faith and families. Our communities must pull together and set aside personal feuds and differences and focus instead on the positive things we can all do together to improve our lives," she said in a speech.

The new impeachment complaint lodged in Congress is the fourth against Arroyo in her seven-year administration. Filed by businessman Jose de Venecia III and human rights activists, it accuses her of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, bribery, graft and corruption, and other high crimes.

Minority lawmakers, who endorsed the complaint, conceded they still lacked 80 votes, or one-third of the House, to be able to forward the complaint to the Senate for trial.

In her speech, Arroyo harped on the network's slogan "Kapuso" and called attention to the pressing need for Filipinos to help one another, and find areas of cooperation.

"As we start seeing Christmas lanterns for sale in the streets and move to the holiday season, we should all count our blessings and look to the future with greater hope, confidence, and optimism," she said.

"The challenges of the future are truly enormous. We will need to come together as a people in order to meet them," she added.

The President said that while the country could weather the financial turmoil, ordinary Filipinos continued to grapple with the high prices of food and fuel.

"There is a global economic crisis that's responsible for driving up the prices of food, fuel, and rice in the Philippines and around the world," she said.

"Fortunately we're not in a crisis here at home but we are facing strong challenges. During these troubled times, it's the role of government to help insulate the Filipino people from these price shocks and economic pressures."

Arroyo had earlier directed her economic managers to draw up a contingency plan to cushion the impact of the global crunch on the poor and overseas workers.