MANILA, 12 November 2003 — The Philippine Congress yesterday foiled a controversial bid to impeach the country’s chief justice, yielding to the Supreme Court’s decision a day earlier that the move was unconstitutional.

But supporters of the impeachment were unlikely to heed calls for reconciliation and analysts said any relief from political uncertainty ahead of elections next May might be brief as politicians in the fractious democracy jockey for position.

In a marathon session of the House of Representatives, lawmakers voted by 115 to 77 to abide by the court’s decision, overcoming opposition from those who wanted to ignore the court and pass the impeachment articles on to the Senate for trial.

“This is a historic win for the Filipino people,” President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said in a statement, after an eight-hour vote that stretched through to dawn yesterday.

“I am confident that the three branches of government can now buckle down to their respective duties unhampered by controversy and uncertainty,” she said.

The impeachment of Chief Justice Hilario Davide prompted street protests and divided the country ahead of the elections.

Supporters of ousted President Joseph Estrada backed impeachment, while the Catholic Church and former President Corazon Aquino led rallies against it.

The peso has slumped to near record lows and reforms vital to stop a sharp decline in foreign investment and curb a large budget deficit languish in Congress.

The currency rebounded yesterday to 55.16 to the dollar from lows around 55.49 on Monday, helped by the apparent end of the crisis, dealers said. Spreads on Philippine sovereign dollar bonds tightened, after blowing out by as much as 15 basis points on Monday.

But domestic debt market yields continued a recent rise and stocks fell to their lowest level in eight days, partly on worries about higher interest rates.

“The worries came up as a combination of several factors,” said a local bank dealer. “It’s not only the impeachment.”

“We are looking at early 2004 with the election campaign, and the budget deficit is still a concern.”

Lawmakers who initiated the impeachment said it was a political issue and that the court should not block it. They accused Davide of misusing public funds, but were in turn accused of trying to gain political leverage ahead of the elections.

A leader of one small opposition group said the impeachment drive was not dead because more than a third of the House supported it.

“The battle will continue on Wednesday,” said Rolex Suplico.

But all legal doors for the impeachment now seem closed.

On Monday, 13 out of 14 Supreme Court judges ruled that the impeachment was unconstitutional because it was the second such complaint against Davide in a year, leaving the House of Representatives to decide whether to accept or reject its ruling.

Senate leader Franklin Drilon told television yesterday that his house would not accept the impeachment articles and urged politicians from both sides to get back to work.

“Let’s move forward, because further tension will not do us any good,” he said.