President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is set to face a new impeachment complaint beginning Saturday, exactly a year after the last impeachment complaint against her was filed at the House of Representatives. Jose “Joey” de Venecia III, the son of former House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr, said Friday he will file a new impeachment complaint against Arroyo beginning on Saturday. He said he will repeat the filing of the complaint on Sunday and Monday. Saturday, October 11, marks the exact date when the one-year immunity of filing another impeachment complaint against Arroyo will expire. De Venecia said the new complaint accuses Arroyo of betrayal of public trust after she approved the national broadband deal with the Chinese firm ZTE Corp. De Venecia testified in the Senate blue-ribbon committee that the deal was overpriced by at least $130 million. The complaint also accuses Arroyo of culpable violation for approving a railway project and numerous human rights violations; bribery for her role in the ZTE-NBN deal; and graft and corruption for her administration's involvement in various irregularities including the 728 million-peso fertilizer scam, 2 billion-peso swine scam and alleged ballot-switching in the 2004 presidential election. Congressmen Satur Ocampo, Luz Ilagan and Teodoro Casi?o are set to endorse the complaints which are also being supported by civil society, human rights and left-leaning groups. However, Malaca?ang officials said they are confident that the impeachment complaints will be dismissed with dispatch by the House of Representatives. Arroyo political adviser Gabriel Claudio said the complaints are not surprising since they came from “certified Arroyo-haters.” “The case will not fly for at least two reasons: One, it is bereft of any legal grounds. For example, the President cannot be held legally liable for any of the issues raised; two, the proximity of the 2010 elections and the current global financial turmoil make such a move look absolutely unnecessary, distractive and destructive,” he said. He said Congress and the public, including those against the administration or identified with the opposition would prefer to wait for the 2010 elections to effect changes in the national leadership. House Speaker Prospero Nograles welcomed the filing of the complaint and said he will ask the House secretary-general to be on standby even on the weekend to receive the complaint. __
