On the junking of impeachment cases in the House of Representatives, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Tuesday expressed the appreciation to this "grand display of political maturity and resilience."

Following the House voting was finalized to throw out the impeachment complaint by 158-51 with six abstentions, President Arroyo said that the outcome was "a grand display of political maturity and resilience" as the country battles the vagaries of a challenging age, and poised for takeoff.

"The Filipino people mark a glorious day in history, when instead of forcing a President out of office through people power, they chose to keep a President through voting in the halls of Constitutional Democracy," she said in a statement.

Arroyo expressed her gratitude towards the administration allies for their faith in her leadership and in the good future of the country.

She also thanked her family "who quietly stood by my side", and most of all to the Filipino people, "here and in four corners of this earth, who have stayed the course of responsible democracy."

Arroyo reached the olive to the opposition for reconciliation for the national interest.

"The nation must now move forward to a brighter tomorrow and put politics behind," she said.

Although conceding the defeat in the impeachment attempt, the opposition lawmakers earlier said that they would keep up its campaign to unseat the president through the courts and in the streets.

Followed the voting of the House, a mass opposition protest led by Former president Corazon Aquino, an icon of the "people power" revolt that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986, was staged in the capital.

"Maybe this is one way of telling them how much it means, not only to me but to all of us who love our democracy and who are searching for the truth," Aquino said.

The capital police has been placed under alert with the mass protest in case of any violence.

While saying it is satisfied with the Congress' handling of the impeachment complaints against President Arroyo, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Tuesday warned its officers and men who may join pro-impeachment groups in their demonstrations.

Lt. Col. Buenaventura Pascual, chief of the AFP's public information office, told reporters that any military officer, including generals, would be arrested if they participate in the political activity.

"They will be arrested immediately if they join rallies. That's clear, we have been saying this to them (military personnel), they will be arrested. Even if a general participates, he will be arrested and investigated," said Pascual.

The House justice committee finalize the report dismissed the original impeachment complaint filed by lawyer Oliver Lozano for lack of substance. it also excluded the impeachment complaint filed by lawyer Jose Rizalino Lopez and the amended version by the opposition, citing the one-year rule banning the impeaching a sitting President.

Source: Xinhua