[JURIST] Philippine legislators on Wednesday quashed a second impeachment complaint [press release] against Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo [official website; Wikipedia backgrounder]. The House Committee on Justice [official website] on voted 56-24 to dismiss the impeachment complaint against Arroyo for lack of evidence, though opposition leaders say they have seven boxes of documents to support allegations that Arroyo was guilty of "culpable violations of the constitution, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes and betrayal of public trust." The complaint was filed [JURIST report] in June on behalf of 300 opposition politicians.

Specifically, the complaint accused Arroyo of fixing the 2004 presidential election, a charge denied by Arroyo [JURIST report], and of depositing public monies into her campaign accounts. The complaint also accuses Arroyo of unconstitutionally "exercising dictatorial powers" to stifle dissent and refusing to participate in government investigation into corruption allegations. Arroyo's congressional supporters called the complaint groundless. The complaint was filed exactly one year after lawmakers first filed three impeachment charges [JURIST report] against Arroyo, which were formally dismissed [JURIST report] last September. DPA has more. The Philippine Star has local coverage.