Move to oust Arroyo on last legs

MANILA, Tuesday (Reuters) - Opponents of Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo tried on Tuesday to breathe life into a dying attempt to unseat her, accusing her of telling allies to endorse an impeachment complaint that was doomed to fail.

The accusation, which was denied by government officials, came as a Congress committee prepared to resume a hearing that is expected to junk the strongest two of three separate complaints, effectively killing attempts to impeach Arroyo over allegations of graft and electoral fraud.

By selecting and then killing the weakest case, Arroyo's allies can block further opposition attempts to impeach her because only one impeachment complaint can be taken up against the same official in a single year.

One of the eight cabinet ministers who resigned in early July told a news conference on Tuesday that she had heard Arroyo tell her political affairs officer Gabriel Claudio to endorse the first impeachment complaint, which was filed in late June.

But Claudio at a hastily arranged news conference an hour later, denied having had any conversation with Arroyo, calling the allegation an "outright lie".

That first impeachment complaint, which was legally weak compared to later amended cases written by opposition lawyers, was endorsed by a lawmaker allied with Arroyo's ruling coalition two days later.

"I heard the president say to Secretary Claudio to have the complaint endorsed already," former social welfare secretary Corazon Soliman told reporters.

"At that time I was not aware of the significance of that conversation, but at this juncture of the impeachment proceedings I believe it is important that I make a statement in the interest of truth and fairness."

The opposition, which has accused Arroyo of bribing lawmakers to secure their support, says her allies in the Congress committee are preparing to kill off the impeachment when hearings resume on Tuesday by ruling that only the initial case can be taken up.

The opposition could still impeach Arroyo and trigger a Senate trial by gathering 79 votes in a full session of the lower house, but it remains well short of that number.

Alan Peter Cayetano, an opposition leader, told Reuters they needed about eight more signatures in order to persuade other lawmakers to come forward and take the number over 79.