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A suspected car bomb exploded outside the entrance lobby of the Batasan complex in Quezon City last night, killing Basilan Rep. Wahab Akbar and a driver and wounding at least 12 others.

Initial reports said the blast occurred at 8:15 p.m. at the south wing entrance of the House of Representatives just as the lawmakers were leaving the building after the adjournment of the session.

Akbar, a former Abu Sayyaf member, died at the FEU hospital in Fairview. Police are looking into the possibility that he was the principal target.

The other fatality was identified as Marcial Rualdo, driver of Gabriela party-list Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan. The two injured congressmen were Ilagan and Negros Oriental Rep. Henry Teves. Teves’ niece Ma-an Bustalino was also reportedly injured and is in critical condition.

The injured were brought to Malvar Hospital on Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City.

President Arroyo ordered Philippine National Police chief Avelino Razon Jr. to supervise the investigation. She asked Razon to determine immediately the cause of the blast and submit periodic reports to the Palace “as warranted.”

Metro Manila and Regions 3 and 4 have been placed under red alert.

Director Geary Barias, chief of the National Capital Region Police Office, said a remote detonating device was found at the blast site in the south wing.

The gate to Batasan was closed to the public. Firemen arrived at around 8:20 p.m. Authorities from Quezon City Police Station 6 also arrived in the area.

Rep. Joel Villlanueva told dzBB that it was a “very loud explosion.”

Speaker Jose de Venecia, who reportedly left a few minutes before the bomb exploded, condemned in strongest terms “this cowardly and dastardly act on the House of Representatives,” saying it was “the work of a terrorist or an anarchist.”

He said there would most likely be sessions tomorrow. “We would like to show these cowardly terrorists, whoever they are, that we are not afraid of them,” he added.

The lawmakers were debating the cheap medicine bill and had adjourned when the bomb went off.

De Venecia ordered the House security and police to conduct a “clean sweep” of the 16-hectare Batasan complex “to make sure that there are no bombs left behind.”

Sen. Loren Legarda said the incident was “truly unfortunate and disturbing.”

“We must secure the Senate and public utilities and assure the public that they are safe in public places,” she said in a text message.

Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. asked the Arroyo administration to “identify, arrest, and prosecute” those responsible for the blast but warned her against “doing a Musharraf” by suspending civil liberties.

He was referring to Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf who recently abolished his country’s constitution and declared martial law purportedly as part of his government’s war on terror.

Senate president Manuel Villar also condemned the bombing and ordered tighter security at the Senate. -with Christina Mendez

By Delon Porcalla
Wednesday, November 14, 2007