A man who alleged himself as a member of the rebel Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) claimed early Wednesday morning that the group is responsible for the deadly blast that occurred near the Philippine House of Representatives complex.

 

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief director General Avelino Razon told Xinhua that a person, known by the name of Abu Musa and alleging himself an ASG member, made the claim in a mobile phone text message to local media.

 

Abu Musa was not on the police's roster of ASG members, said Razon, adding that he would ask the military intelligence for verification.

 

The blast took place at about 8:15 PM Tuesday (1215 GMT) at the southern wing of the Philippine Congress complex in Quezon City, part of Metro Manila, leaving two dead, including a lawmaker, and nearly a dozen others wounded.

 

The lawmaker, Wahab Akbar, was believed to have strong ties with the Abu Sayyaf Group before becoming a member of the parliament, Philippine television network ABS-CBN News reported.

 

The reports said he was a former commander of the anti-government militant group listed by the Philippine government as a terrorist organization based in the southern Philippines.

 

Razon said Akbar, a former governor of Basilan province in Mindanao, a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf Group, could be the most likely target of the bombing, as the explosive went off near Akbar's car which parked near the lobby of the Congress building's southern wing.

 

Akbar told Xinhua earlier that many people wanted to kill him, including his rival politicians in Basilan and the Abu Sayyaf Group, some of whose members who surrendered to him and the government security forces had already been slain by their former comrades.

 

Metro Manila, the Philippine capital region, has been placed on full alert following the blast. Security around the Senate has particularly been increased.

 

Police has also put the central and southern Luzon island, where the capital region is located, on high alert as it could be an entry and exit point for the perpetrators.

 

(Xinhua News Agency November 14, 2007)