An MP from a turbulent Muslim region of the Philippines was the likely target of a bomb blast that ripped through the country's house of representatives today, Manila's police chief said.
"From what we saw, it looks like congressman [Wahab] Akbar was the target of the attack," Geary Barias said
Akbar, a former governor of southern Basilan province, died of his injuries in hospital. In the past, he had been targeted by the Abu Sayyaf Muslim extremist group in for launching offensives against it.
The president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, ordered the national police chief to personally supervise the investigation into the cause of the blast.
Razon said experts were conducting chemical tests on one of two destroyed motorcycles in the area where the bomb could have been planted.
Investigators believe the device could have been suspect the bomb may have been remotely detonated as Akbar approached his car. An MP's driver also died in the explosion, and at least eight others, including two congressmen, were hurt.
The blast, which happened shortly after 8pm (1200 GMT) as the house ended its session, destroyed the ceiling of the south entrance to the Batasan complex as members of the lower house were leaving.
Police cordoned off the area surrounding the parliament, in suburban Quezon City, and officers and soldiers in Manila have been put on high alert.
The president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, ordered the national police chief to personally supervise the investigation into the cause of the blast.
The house speaker, Jose de Venecia, who visited the site moments after the explosion, told reporters he condemned "in the strongest terms this cowardly and dastardly attack against the house of representatives".
"If this is terrorist action or work of an anarchist I'm sure it was deliberately done to cow us," he added. "We cannot rule out anything until the investigation is completed. There are many threats to us personally and officially. We will have to decide whether we have to augment security."
The blast happened amid heightened political tensions in the country, with the president facing a third impeachment complaint in as many years.
The Philippine capital has been jittery since last month, when an explosion damaged a shopping mall in the financial district, killing 11 people and injuring more than 100.
Police said a buildup of gases was the likely cause, but a final report has yet to be released and the owners of the Glorietta complex disputed those findings.
The Philippines is fighting communist and Muslim insurgencies and small-scale bomb attacks are common in the restive south.