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Manila: With the conclusion of the latest impeachment trial against President Gloria Arroyo, the House of Representatives can now focus on its task of law making, the head of the 228-member chamber said.
House Speaker Prospero Nograles said that instead of wasting time trying to constitutionally oust the President, lawmakers should focus their crafting laws and strategies to shield the country from the effects of the US recession.
He stressed that the House has fulfilled its commitment to pursue a swift but transparent and judicious process of impeachment and the decision to junk the impeachment complaint is a result of inability of proponents to justify the validity of their complaint.
"We allowed all sides to speak their minds but, at the end of the day, the proponents failed to get the support that they needed to bring this complaint to the Senate which would conduct the impeachment trial," Nograles said.
He revealed that each member of the House was given the opportunity to explain their votes when the report of the House Committee on Justice chaired by Quezon City Representative Matias Defensor was taken up by plenary.
Debates in the plenary that started at 9pm on Tuesday lasted until 1am yesterday with lawmakers rejecting the impeachment complaint against Arroyo.
"We followed the same Constitutional provisions and the same House rules on impeachment. We just have to respect the rule of law and then move on," Nograles said.
The latest impeachment was the fourth complaint filed against Arroyo.
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