MANILA, Philippines -- Malacañang has called on the public to respect the decision of the lawmakers at the House of Representatives to dismiss the latest impeachment complaint against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for insufficiency in substance.

After two days of debates, 42 of the President's allies in the committee on justice that deliberated on the case voted Wednesday to trash the complaint as against eight who voted for it.

"Respetuhin na lang natin boto ng Kongreso. Wala naman tayo magagawa diyan eh. Either way, its best to leave it at that dahil alam naman natin may sariling procedure yang Kongreso [Let's respect the vote of Congress. We can't do anything about it. Either way, it's best to leave it at that because we all know that Congress has its own procedure]," Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said shortly after the vote was made.

Ermita added that the impeachment debates have not distracted government from its work.

"Kahit naman merong hearing, tuloy-tuloy ang trabaho dahil alam naming tuwi-tuwina ito'y nangyayari. We never interrupted our jobs [We continue with work in spite of the hearings. We know this happens once in a while]," he said.

News of the dismissal of the latest attempt to impeach Arroyo came as Ermita made his way to a "boodle fight" lunch with Palace reporters.

Ermita, Presidential Management Staff Chief Cerge Remonde, Cabinet Secretary Silvestre Bello III, and Deputy Presidential Spokesman Anthony Golez feasted on roasted chicken, deep fried fish fillets, pancit or noodles, and eggplant salad.

A "boodle fight" is a military practice wherein a commander and his troops eat food from banana leaves laid out on a long table. Ermita was a former military general.

Ermita had reportedly planned the "boodle fight" ahead of the impeachment debates, after he lost in a bet.