Asian Political News: Arroyo files to dismiss impeachment charges

MANILA, July 22 Kyodo

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Friday filed to dismiss all charges hurled against her in an impeachment complaint set to be submitted to Congress next week.

Arroyo denied all the allegations, including vote-rigging charges, in what the opposition view as a preemptive strike to scuttle the impeachment case.

''(The) respondent specifically denies the allegations for lack of knowledge sufficient to form a belief as to the truth,'' the filing said.

Rep. Ronaldo Zamora dismissed the denial as a ploy.

''I think this is another way of filibustering the impeachment process,'' Zamora said, adding that the opposition will take the case to the streets should the process break down.

The opposition says it will file an impeachment complaint against Arroyo when Congress resumes on Monday, the same day she delivers her annual state of the nation address.

Opposition lawyer Harry Roque said at least 60 legislators have already signed the impeachment complaint -- 19 shy of the required 79 signatures from the House of Representatives to send the motion to the Senate, which will then convene as an impeachment court.

''One thing I assure you -- by Monday she is impeached. We will greet her that way,'' Roque said.

The complaint will contain 10 charges of misconduct, Roque said.

''I think the opposition will get the number. The administration recognizes that this will not be easy for them,'' said Peter Wallace, president of the Manila-based Wallace Business Forum.

He added that there is a ''modest chance'' of Arroyo being convicted in the Senate, as her support base has diminished with the desertion of some administration senators.

Arroyo has come under fire for improperly speaking with an election official during last year's presidential vote. She is also being castigated over allegations her husband, son and brother-in-law have received gambling kickbacks.

Arroyo has admitted calling the election official, which she called a ''lapse of judgment,'' but insisted she did not influence the results.

She said she is prepared to face an impeachment trial to clear her name, and announced the formation of an independent ''truth commission'' to probe the vote-rigging charges.

The military announced Friday it will raise the nationwide alert status from white to red on Sunday while 16,000 policemen will be deployed in preparation for huge rallies set to coincide with Arroyo's national address.

Anti-Arroyo groups last weekend staged their biggest protest yet, with 30,000 people gathering in Manila's financial district calling for her ouster. Yet it failed to match people-power uprisings that toppled presidents in 1986 and 2001.