3 killed in bombing at Philippine Congress

A bomb exploded Tuesday outside the Philippine House of Representatives, killing three people, including a former Muslim rebel who had joined the government and backed a U.S.-Philippine offensive against Islamic militants.

Interior Secretary Ronaldo V. Puno said the target appeared to be Rep. Wahab Akbar, the former rebel, who as governor of southern Basilan province from 1998 to 2007 had given his support to military operations against Abu Sayyaf guerrillas. Akbar died of his injuries in a hospital, police said.

However, Puno sought to play down the possible involvement of Muslim extremists, saying the investigation was “pointing away from terrorist attack and more of a directed assault on a certain individual.”

“There were threats on the life of Akbar,” Puno told reporters. “The indications are that that was the case both in terms of location of the bomb and the manner it was set off.”

Other than the Muslim rebels, Akbar also had many political foes, including those who ran against one of his wives who succeeded him as Basilan governor. Another wife is mayor of the provincial capital. Political rivalries in the southern Philippines are often accompanied by bloodshed, and assassinations are common.

The remotely detonated bomb also killed a driver and a legislative staffer when it brought down the ceiling at the building’s entrance and damaged cars. Seven people were injured, including two lawmakers.

Akbar, 47, was a member of the Moro National Liberation Front, a Muslim rebel group that dropped its secessionist goal and signed a peace accord with the government in September 1996.