Eleven opposition lawmakers walked out of the chamber when it became apparent that an overwhelming majority of the 238-member House of Representatives would throw out the impeachment complaint.

Voting 183-21, with three abstaining, the House of Representatives adopted a report by a congressional justice panel dismissing the impeachment complaint for lack of substance, blocking a possible trial in the Senate.

The complaint against Arroyo, due to serve until mid-2010, were based on charges of corruption, bribery and human rights abuses. Apart from surviving four impeachments, she has also escaped three attempts by troops since 2003 to seize power.


Matias Defensor, one of Arroyo's allies in the lower chamber of Congress, said the opposition had failed to prove the grounds for impeachment, describing the latest complaint as a rehash of the cases filed against Arroyo in previous motions.

"Impeachment, as many would say, is a question of numbers. True," Defensor said in a speech sponsoring the justice committee report that kept Arroyo in power.

Some members of the opposition made passionate appeals to let Arroyo face the accusations in an impeachment court, since she now enjoys immunity from legal suits.

Teodoro Casino, a member of the left-wing Bayan Muna (Nation First) party, criticised the legality of the move of the majority to throw out the latest impeachment complaint.

"This implies that a president can insulate herself forever from an impeachment by having allies file a weak complaint, have it dismissed on technicalities and then use it as a basis to dismiss future complaints," Casino said.

The complaint against Arroyo stemmed from allegations by the businessman son of her former ally in Congress, deposed Speaker Jose de Venecia, that kickbacks were involved in a $330 million telecoms deal with a Chinese company that she had approved.

Arroyo has denied that she or any member of her family has benefitted from any government contract.

Under law, Arroyo cannot be subjected to another impeachment complaint for at least one year, and analysts believe the opposition will not bring any such move for the remainder of her term as they prepare for the 2010 presidential elections.

Agencies