The Bombing at the Philippine Parliament House

By Zachary Abuza

A bomb was detonated at the Philippine House of Representatives soon after their adjournment at 8PM local time, on 14 November, killing Congressman Wahab Akbar and two other staffers, and wounding at least eight people. According to a Philippine National Police Spokesman, “It looks like Congressman Akbar was the target." Secretary of the Interior, Ronaldo Puno, reiterated that the investigation is "pointing away from terrorist attack and more of a directed assault on a certain individual." The investigation is ongoing.

Wahab Akbar, 47, was formerly the two-time governor of Basilan Province, an island just south of the Zamboanga peninsula. He was previously a guerilla leader of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) that signed a peace agreement with the Government in 1996. In the early 1990s, he was known to have ties to the Abu Sayyaf Group’s (ASG) founder, Abdurrajak Janjalani. Akbar cut ties following the 1996 Accord, his foray into electoral politics, and the ASG’s degeneration into a criminal gang. In 2002, US forces assisted their Philippine counterparts in driving the Abu Sayyaf off of Basilan. Governor Akbar was supportive of the efforts of the US Embassy and JSOTF-P’s operations in Basilan. But in the past two years, the ASG have been trying to return to the island. Akbar has been openly supportive of operations against his former allies, the ASG. While the ASG has engaged in bombings in metro-Manila before, it tends not to employ bombings for targeted assassinations. Late Tuesday the evening the PNP received an SMS message from someone claiming to be a member of the ASG. Police, however, said that the sender was not known by them to be a member of the ASG. The ASG claimed responsibility for an explosion at the Glorietta Mall in Makati last month that killed 11, whose cause is still being investigated.

But the ASG are only one of many suspects. Akbar had friends but he also had plenty of enemies.

The MILF, who have a small presence on Basilan, have their own beef with Akbar. In July, Philippine Armed Forces went on an offensive against a group of Abu Sayyaf, who had taken refuge in an area of Basilan controlled by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The MILF do not deny that they fought the armed forces in self defense, killing 14. Yet ten of those were also beheaded. The MILF deny that they were protecting, let alone, fighting along side, the Abu Sayyaf, yet that position is not tenable. The MILF have been increasingly angered by the MNLF’s unwillingness to support the GRP-MILF peace process, and tend to view the MNLF as corrupt sellouts who no longer are the legitimate representatives of the Bangsamoro. On 10 November, the MNLF chairman, Nur Misuari warned that the peace pact with the MILF “will be illegal,” as the MNLF’s agreement is the “final agreement” and cannot be superceded. The GRP-MILF peace process has been stalled for almost 14 months, over the issue of ancestral domain, but the real issue is the intra-Moro conflict. The MILF will of course deny any involvement, citing their commitment to the peace process, and right now there is no evidence that they were behind the bombing. The MILF, it should be noted, have attempted bombings cum assassinations against Muslim rivals in the past, in particular against the Ampatuan clan.

No other group or individual has claimed responsibility, and there is the potential that it could have simply been a political feud. Akbar had plenty of political enemies in Basilan. The two term-governor was succeeded by one of his three wives, and another wife is the Mayor of the provincial capital, Isabella. The third wife has tried to enter electoral politics, which tends to be a blood sport in the southern Philippines.

But the ASG should not be ruled out just yet. It would be the first known attempt by the ASG to target a political leader for assassination outside of the deep south, in particular with a bomb. It is also evidence that despite a concerted military campaign against the ASG, they are still able to conduct operations that reinforce the perception of political instability in the Philippines.

But sadly the bombing reinforces the notion that the Philippine Government, despite massive American assistance just cannot get their house in order. The security situation remains fragile. The NPA have stepped up attacks around the country. And a culture of impunity not seen since the Marcos era is evident with the extrajudicial killing of some 700 suspected leftists and government critics.

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