BREAKING NEWS: Congress Blast Kills Solon, Driver; Several Others Hurt

MANILA — An explosion Tuesday evening inside the House of Representatives killed two people, one of them a congressman, and injured several others.

The blast, which occurred at around 8:15 p.m. at the south lobby of the main building of the House of Representatives, killed Wahab Akbar. Also killed was Marcial Talbo, the driver of another legislator, Rep. Luz Ilagan, who was wounded in her right leg and back.

Another congressman, Henry Teves, is in critical condition, officials said.

At least nine people, most of them members of the staff of members of Congress, were also hurt in the explosion, according to the police. The police have declared a full alert in the capital.

House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. the explosion “an act of terrorism.”

“I don’t want to be frightened by these terrorists and destabilizers so I have ordered the sessions to resume tomorrow,” de Venecia said in a phone interview. He said the police were going to sweep the Congress premises the rest of the night for other possible explosives.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered the country’s police chief, Avelino Razon, to lead the investigation of the blast, her spokesman said.

A witness, Sandra Cam, told radio station DZBB that Akbar was talking on his mobile phone and was on his way to his SUV when the explosion occurred.

Cris Puno, a spokesman for Akbar, told reporters that the attack was directed at the congressman and may have been perpetrated by Akbar’s political rivals.

For decades, Akbar and his family have ruled Basilan, an island in the south notorious for being the lair of the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group. A Muslim, his first wife is the current governor while another wife is the mayor of the province’s capital city of Isabela. Akbar himself was a former governor of the province and was a key figure in the US-supported campaign to stamp out the Abu Sayyaf in his province.

Police, meanwhile, said that Tuesday’s explosion was a “coordinated attack” and that it was caused by a bomb that may have been remotely detonated, according to Geary Barias, the police chief of the Philippine capital of Manila.

The explosion triggered a fire in the south wing of the building, according to ABS-CBN television. The network’s footage showed damaged portions of the ceiling of the lobby, with debris scattered all over.

A member of Ilagan’s staff said the blast, which took place a few minutes after the session ended Tuesday evening, damaged the congresswoman’s van as well as Wahab’s vehicle.

Represenatve Joel Villanueva, in an interview with radio station DZBB, said he heard a “very loud explosion” and saw at least four injured people. The wounded were rushed to the Congress clinic as well as to a nearby hospital.

The explosion at the Congress, the first such incident in its history, came a few weeks after an explosion at the Glorietta mall killed 11 people and wounded dozens of others. Authorities said the blast could have been an accident, although they are not ruling out terrorism.

The country’s legislators are currently deliberating whether to impeach President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who is being accused of corruption and human rights violations.

The Philippines is home to several terrorist groups, among them the Abu Sayyaf, which is responsible for the worst terrorist attacks in the country. Western countries led by the US have offered millions of dollars in aid and security assistance to help Manila fight Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah, the Indonesia-based terror network with alleged links to al-Qaeda. (Carlos Conde/PinoyPress.net)