Thursday, November 15, 2007 Target: Akbar, not the House
MANILA - A congressman killed in a bombing outside the Batasan Pambansa complex was with al-Qaida-linked militants and then switched sides to support an offensive against them—but it was not clear if the blast was revenge for that betrayal, officials said.
Basilan Rep. Wahab Akbar died of wounds shortly after the blast Tuesday night and one of his aides, Julasiri Hayudini, succumbed in a hospital yesterday, said Noel Albano, spokesman for House Speaker Jose de Venecia.
Also killed were Marcial Taldo, a driver of Gabriela party-list Rep. Luz Ilagan, and Maan Gale Bustaliño, a legislative staffer of Oriental Negros Pryde Henry Teves.
Twelve other people, including Ilagan and Teves, were wounded. Teves suffered severe burns while Ilagan underwent surgery to remove shrapnel from her back.
Police said Akbar appeared to have been the target of the remotely detonated explosion, which shattered the south lobby of the House of Representatives complex in Quezon City, as lawmakers and their staff were leaving after a session.
“We now have evidence of a bomb...the cell phone and pieces of nails used as shrapnel,” National Capital Region Police Chief Geary Barias said.
“They could see their target,” he said. “Those circumstances would show the target was Congressman Akbar.”
The footage from the Batasan security cams showed that Akbar was nearest to the motorcycle where police said the remotely detonated bomb was planted. The time stamp on the footage showed the explosion happened at 8:15 p.m.
Initial investigation by the Task Force Batasan found that House security was not strict about checking motorcycles.
Barias said cell phone text messages, purportedly from the Abu Sayyaf, were circulating that claimed responsibility for the bombing but added: “We are not taking that hook, line and sinker.”
Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno said the entire House security staff was suspended and replaced by special police commandos.
President Arroyo ordered the creation of a task force on political violence headed by Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro.
Arroyo said the task force would coordinate with the judiciary, Presidential Council on Values Formation, Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines and non-governmental organizations.
She also offered a P5-million reward for information on those behind the bombing, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said.
The President urged the public not to engage in speculations or spread rumors that would result in more confusion, fear and conflict and would adversely affect the business environment.
A US Embassy statement expressed “shock and dismay,” and offered condolences to victims’ families.
It said the United States was ready help the Philippines investigate.
Akbar, a former Muslim separatist rebel who became governor of southern Basilan province, joined the extremist Abu Sayyaf group in the 1990s when it had just launched a campaign to set up an Islamic caliphate in the southern Philippines, said metropolitan Manila police chief Geary Barias.
But as the group started attacking Christians, kidnapping for ransom and beheading hostages, Akbar quit and joined US-backed military operations against the militants in Basilan, Barias said.
Two months ago Akbar denied any Abu Sayyaf links, calling such allegations “a lie told a thousand times” by the military, police and his political enemies.
He said the Abu Sayyaf violates Islamic teachings by stealing and by attacking innocent civilians.
Congress members wore black armbands in mourning as de Venecia opened yesterday’s session, denouncing the “dastardly and cowardly attack.”
“This wasn’t an ordinary explosion - it was meant to kill and intimidate,” he said. “Democracy and freedom can thrive only when we are determined to fight for it. Today we decide to conduct this session as always to show our resolve.”
In the Basilan capital of Isabela hundreds of people lined the streets, many openly weeping, as Akbar’s body was borne by a pickup truck to its place of burial.
“We have lost a great leader—a leader who united Muslims and Christians, a leader who crushed the Abu Sayyaf. Now we are apprehensive the Abu Sayyaf will come back,” said Chris Puno, a spokesman for Akbar’s administration.
Officials said the blast was not necessarily an Abu Sayyaf revenge attack.
Interior Secretary Puno said the investigation was “pointing away from a terrorist attack and more of a directed assault on a certain individual.” He said there had been threats on Akbar’s life.
Akbar had many political foes, including some who ran and lost against one of his three wives, who succeeded him as Basilan governor. Another wife won as mayor of the provincial capital.
Political rivalries in the southern Philippines are often accompanied by bloodshed, and assassinations of politicians are common.
“Political angle, personal angle, it’s too early to discount other possibilities,” Barias said.
Akbar, 47, had said he joined his guerrilla father as a teenager in the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), a Muslim rebel group that dropped its secessionist goal and signed a peace accord with the government in September 1996.
He later took up Islamic studies in Syria, had military training in Libya and became a preacher to the rebels and Basilan’s people.
He also became an MNLF deputy guerrilla commander.
As Basilan governor in 2002, he welcomed US troops who trained Filipino soldiers battling the Abu Sayyaf. Over the years, the island was gradually transformed from a militant hotbed into a showcase of counterterrorism success and humanitarian development.
Barias said the bomb was hidden on one of two parked motorcycles and then remotely detonated as Akbar approached his car.
Arroyo urged people not to jump to conclusions about the attack. “We’re making a call against rumors, accusations that create confusion, fear and conflict,” she said.
The blast occurred amid heightened political tensions in the country as Arroyo faces a third impeachment attempt in as many years. (AP/AFP/Sunnex)
