MANILA, 14 November 2007 — A bomb exploded in the House of Representatives in Quezon City last night killing Basilan Representative Wahab Akbar, the driver of a lawmaker and a member of the staff of yet another lawmaker.

Two other lawmakers and eight others were also wounded in the explosion, minutes after the House adjourned its session a little past 8 p.m.

Aside from Akbar, the explosion also killed Marcial Tando, driver of Gabriela Representative Luz Ilagan, and Maan Bustanillo, a member of the staff of Negros Oriental Representative Pryde Henry Teves.

Police think Akbar was the target of the attack. He was declared dead at 10:25 p.m. at the Far Eastern University Hospital in Quezon City.

National Capital Region office chief Geary Barias said Akbar’s Toyota Fortuner was parked at the south wing lobby of the house, site of the explosion. Both Ilagan and Teves were also wounded in the explosion.

Mayor Talib Pawaki of Hadji Muhamad Ajul town in Basilan said Akbar sustained “massive head injuries,” including a fracture, but was still alive when brought to the hospital.

Akbar’s body will be flown home to Basilan today in keeping with Muslim tradition to bury the dead as early as possible.

Philippine National Police Director Gen. Avelino Razon Jr. said Tando, who was identified through his identification card, died on the spot and suffered “a very big wound” in his nape.

Iloilo Representative Janet Garin, a medical doctor who helped evacuate the wounded, told local television channels that Bustanillo died at the Capitol Medical Center where she was rushed when her vital signs deteriorated as she was taken to the St. Luke’s Medical Center.

Barias said police suspect an improvised explosive device was remotely detonated because “the explosion occurred immediately after the suspension of the session at 8:05 p.m.”

He said police think one of two motorcycles parked a few meters from the south wing lobby of the Batasan could have been the vehicle where the bomb was placed. The explosion left a three-foot crater.

He said police were questioning a cameraman of the House of Representatives who owned one of two motorcycles but had not taken him into custody.

Gabriela Representative Liza Maza, also identified another of the wounded as her driver Mike Lim. She said Ilagan, Lim and Tando were taken to the nearby Miguel Malvar Hospital.

Dr. Ven Malabanan of the New Era General Hospital, where Teves was first taken, said the lawmaker was in “very critical condition” after sustaining blast injuries, including second and third degree burns and shrapnel wounds to the face and body, and needed to be transferred to St. Luke’s Hospital.

Reacting to Akbar’s death, presidential adviser Jesus Dureza said: “I am saddened to know that a good friend and a leader in Basilan is among the casualties. Whatever the reason or motive, whether he is the target or the intended victim, we would have to leave that to the authorities to investigate. We grieve for him.”

He said Akbar had helped the government in its anti-terrorism campaign against the Abu Sayyaf group on Basilan Island, where the militants are on the run from a massive military crackdown.

Akbar, 47, had twice served as governor of Basilan, a known stronghold of Abu Sayyaf.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered Razon to “personally supervise the investigation,” her spokesman Ignacio Bunye told reporters.

House Speaker Jose de Venecia said he had ordered a “clean sweep” of the complex to ensure “there are no other bombs that are left behind.” He condemned the blast as “deliberate act” and apparently caused by a device remotely detonated. The bomb was apparently intended to inflict huge casualties, judging by the timing of the explosion.

Congressman Joel Villanueva said less than 50 of the House’s 275 members were left inside when the bomb exploded. “It was a very huge explosion,” Villanueva said. “We are stunned.”

“I heard it and I felt the blast although I was on the other side of the building. The ceiling of the canopy near the south wing entrance came down,” Bayan Muna (People First) Representative Teodoro Casiño said.