a Macapagal Arroyo's allies, threw out an impeachment bid against her Wednesday and vowed to stick to a one-year ban on other such attempts. The House Justice Committee dismissed a complaint against Arroyo over alleged corruption and betrayal of public trust on a technicality for "lack of substance" - the third year in a row that they have saved her from an opposition-led impeachment attempt.
A left-wing group, Bayan, vowed to question the ruling before the Supreme Court and to continue with street protests aimed at pressuring her to step down.
Pro-Arroyo lawmakers on the committee voted 43 to 1 to dump the impeachment complaint in a public hearing that was held a day after a bomb attack killed a congressman and two other people at an entrance to the Congress building.
Seven opposition lawmakers boycotted the vote, accusing pro-Arroyo counterparts of railroading proceedings to defeat the complaint.
"It is bereft of the requisite ultimate facts," Justice Committee Vice Chairman Edcel Lagman said of the complaint. "It is inordinately bare, like a centerfold which may excite but does not excel."
Lagman, a staunch Arroyo backer, said the committee would no longer entertain any other impeachment bid, including one filed by left-wing groups Monday, because of a law that bars more than one complaint against the president each year.
Arroyo's spokesman, Ignacio Bunye, welcomed the decision and urged opposition groups to refocus their efforts on vital economic issues.
The complaint had linked Arroyo's administration to corruption that allegedly surrounded a major Chinese telecommunications contract. Arroyo scrapped the deal after a losing bidder told a Senate inquiry that bribes were offered to ensure approval of the project. Arroyo's husband also was promised a huge kickback, the bidder claimed. Arroyo's husband has denied receiving any kickbacks.
Arroyo has survived two other impeachment attempts in the past two years, including one that accused her of rigging the 2004 presidential election with the help of a top elections commissioners and loyal generals. She has denied any wrongdoing, but has refused to explain the accusations in detail.
Dominant opposition members of the Senate, meanwhile, opened a public investigation into allegations that Arroyo's key allies bribed several House members and governors to ensure support for her as she faced new impeachment complaints.
The bribery allegations surfaced when two provincial governors said they each received 500,000 pesos (US$11,360; ��8,000) from unidentified officials after meeting Arroyo at her presidential palace last month. Arroyo's office denied handing out the cash.
