MANILA, Philippines—Allies of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the House of Representatives Monday wondered why the fourth impeachment complaint against her was filed with the 2010 presidential election just around the corner.

They said the latest complaint was a “selfish” move that would distract lawmakers from their more pressing duty of passing the budget and helping the country cope with the global economic crisis.

They also believed that getting at least one-third of the 240-member House to impeach Ms Arroyo and to send it to the opposition-dominated Senate for trial would be difficult.

“Even if you succeed, there may only be two to three months left in her term,” said Quezon City Rep. Matias Defensor Jr., chair of the House committee on justice.

Senior Deputy Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II said the impeachment complaint was intended to “advance political interests” and deemed it a betrayal of the country.

“This will just divert our attention and steal time from Congress when it should be focusing on the budget, fiscal incentives and reforming the tax system,” Gonzales said in a phone interview.

The impeachment complaint, filed by businessman Jose “Joey” de Venecia III, lawyer Harry Roque and others, including missing activist’s mother Edita Burgos, accused Ms Arroyo of bribery, corruption and human rights violation, among others.

‘Ill-timed’

Speaker Prospero Nograles said the complaint would go through the proper process, but said it was “ill-timed” because the House would need to focus on the economy.

In a statement, Nograles said lawmakers would be “straightforward in dealing with this issue and not waste precious time needed to insulate our people from the possible domino effects of the global economic slowdown.”

The timing of the filing was also the reason the business community was dismayed over the complaint primarily, according to Trade Secretary Peter Favila.

Favila said a number of business leaders had phoned him Sunday to complain. “It’s a pity (that) during this time when the whole world is focused on what we need to do because of the financial turmoil, here in the Philippines, we’re still bogged down with politics,” he said.

Distraction

Majority Leader Arthur Defensor said the impeachment complaint must be resolved with dispatch to ensure that the lawmakers’ time and attention would not be divided.

“This is distracting us. We have very important legislative priorities. We have to pass the 2009 budget,” he said.

Defensor said the impeachment complaint would have a hard time getting enough supporters in the lower house dominated by the President’s allies.

“I doubt it will succeed. Impeachment is a political question. The administration has a very large majority in the House,” he said. The opposition controls only 28 seats in the 240-member House.

Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora, in a phone interview, acknowledged that getting the numbers would not be a walk in the park.

“On that basis, we will really have a hard time,” Zamora said.

Sessions resume Nov. 10

The impeachment complaint would only move once the House resumes session on Nov. 10. Once filed, an impeachment complaint would be included in the order of business within 10 days. It would then have to be referred to the committee on justice in three days.

The justice committee would determine whether the complaint is sufficient in form and substance.

If the complaint were found sufficient in substance, the justice committee would conduct a preliminary investigation in which the President would have to submit her response to allegations, and witnesses might be called.

This process alone could take about six months, according to Rep. Matias Defensor, chair of the committee on justice.

If the committee decides to dismiss the complaint, it would submit a corresponding resolution to the entire chamber. A vote of one-third of the members is needed to override the resolution.

If the committee finds probable cause against the President, it would come out with a resolution setting forth the articles of impeachment. This would then be debated upon in the plenary, and a vote of one-third of all House members is needed for it to be approved.

If enough members support the resolution, it would go to Senate for trial.

The complaint includes previous allegations that Ms Arroyo rigged the 2004 elections as well as new ones, such as alleged corruption in the proposed National Broadband Network project involving the Chinese company ZTE Corp., said De Venecia, a son and namesake of a former House speaker.

Justice panel

A Department of Justice panel that looked into the propriety of the ZTE deal has found no evidence of overpricing in the $329-million contract.

The panel, headed by Justice Undersecretary Ernesto Pineda, instead saw an apparent conflict of interest in De Venecia’s active pursuit of government contracts despite his being the son of then Speaker Jose De Venecia Jr.

It recommended that the panel report and the transcript of its investigation proceedings be submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman for “any proceeding” against the ousted House leader and his son.

The report showed that it was submitted by the panel on Sept. 9. With reports from Christian V. Esguerra and Norman Bordadora