Marawi City, Philippines: Some new village officials in the province of Lanao del Sur have been trying to assume office since their proclamation in the recent concluded October 29 Barangay and Sangunayang Kabataan Elections. The question has been raised: "who has the authority to receive the Barangay Internal Revenue Allocation for the month of November," invites disagreement between the outgoing and the incoming officials.

This controversy has been normalized after the disclosure of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Acting Chairman Resurreccion Z. Borra that the three-year term of office of the newly elected or reelected 671,120 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials in the last Oct. 29 synchronized village polls starts on Nov. 30.

Borra highlighted this in the wake of reports that many newly elected barangay and SK officials have tried to assume their posts after they were proclaimed winners, creating misunderstanding between the outgoing and incoming village officials.

He said barangay and SK officials who might not have been reelected have the duty to continue performing their functions up to Nov. 30, while the newly elected have to wait until that date before they could perform their duties.

"Incumbent village officials who might have lost in the Oct. 29 village polls could be charged with neglect of public duties, while those newly elected could be guilty of usurpation of functions if they would insist on performing their duties before their term of office starts," Borra explained as published in the Manila Bulletin, a leading news paper in the Philippines.

He also said that except for candidates affected by pending disqualification petitions or failure to elect, all winning village and SK officials in the country's 41,995 barangays have been proclaimed.

Many people in this province have expressed their thanks to the Comelec Commissioner after his disclosure that the term of office of the new Barangay and Sangunayang Kabataan Officials  starts on November 30, 2007.

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Unknown persons at dawn today reportedly fired rocket-propelled grenades (RPG) at the residence of Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Adiong Jr. along Barangay Pangao Saduc, Marawi City, reports monitored here said.

It cannot be ascertained if the governor was in his house, and no one was reported hurt in the 3:30 a.m. attack, according to Chief Police Supt. Joel Goltiao in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

The canopy of the governor's house was damaged while another projectile destroyed a nearby bridge, Goltiao said.

Goltiao has deployed additional police forces around the house to deter further attacks as investigation on the case continues.

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A new book on the peace-making in Mindanao is to be launched on November 28 at Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat, Shariff Kabunsuan, it was learned by Luwaran recently. According to Prof Abhoud Syed Lingga, head of the Institute of Peace, which publishes the book, only handful of guests are invited. Former Secretary and head of the government peace panel Silvestre Afable Jr. is officially invited to grace the occasion by rendering a message in the launching.

Also invited are Ghazali Jaafar, MILF deputy chairman for Political Affairs, who will make the closing remarks, and Atty. Datu Michael Mastura, who will also render a message.

The title of the new book is “The Long Road to Peace: Inside the GRP-MILF Peace Process” and is written by Salah Jubair.

Jubair is a nom de guerre of one of the leaders of the MILF, which is currently talking peace with the Philippine government.

Actually, this is the second book of Jubair on the Mindanao Problem. His first book was “Bangsamoro: A Nation Under Endless Tyranny”.

The Foreword of this present book, 250 pages excluding 20-page pictorials, was written by former Secretary and Chairman of the GRP peace panel, Silvestre Afable Jr. Atty. Datu Michael Mastura, a constitutionalist, a former congressman, and currently member of the MILF peace panel, wrote the Afterword.

There are five blurbs of the book, courtesy of former OPAPP Secretary Teresita Quintos Deles, Manny Mogato, journalist and former president of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP), Atty. Mary Ann Arnado, Deputy Director of the Initiatives for International Dialogue, Father Robert Layson, former parish priest of Pikit and now Vice Chairman of the Mindanao People’s Caucus, and Al Jacinto, Editor-in-chief of the Mindanao Examiner.

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The Peace Panel of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will conduct series of peace forum in the coming months in order to generate more public awareness for the ongoing GRP-MILF Peace Talks, now entering the most difficult phase. Jun Mantawil, head of the MILF peace panel Secretariat, told Luwaran in a recent interview that while the base of support for the peace process is increasing many times, but the “spoilers” are still well-entrenched.

“We must have good mechanism to reach out to those pro-peace process, consolidate them, and thereafter knock at the doors of the spoilers,” he stressed.

He disclosed that the format of the forum would be in three categories: 1) all Moro; 2) all indigenous peoples (IPs); 3) all settlers; 4) Mixed Moro-IPs; 5) Mixed Moro-settlers; and 6) Moro-IPs-settlers combined.

Since two years ago, the MILF peace panel has conducted several peace forums throughout Mindanao and Sulu, but most of these activities were internal in nature; meaning, they were mainly addressed to members, sympathizers of the MILF.
The purpose was to generate support or to neutralize opposition to the peace process as a way of solving the “Bangsamoro Problem” in Mindanao. Even in the MILF, there are sizeable numbers who are opposed to the talks and viewed armed struggle as the only way to victory.

Meanwhile, the MILF peace panel will soon coordinate with its counterpart in the government headed by Secretary Rodolfo Garcia about the possibility of activating the Joint GRP-MILF Advocacy Group, which was formed by the two Parties in 2005.

Atty. Datu Michael Mastura represents the MILF peace panel in that body, while Ms. Sylvia Paraguya for the GRP peace panel.

The group had come up and published a “Primer on the Peace Process”, but the effort for joint advocacy had lost enough steam after the impasse of the talks starting September 2006.

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‘Bomber’s Plan B target was Akbar’s house’
By Joel Guinto
INQUIRER.net
Last updated 07:13pm (Mla time) 11/20/2007

MANILA, Philippines -- A former town mayor from Basilan has been arrested and is being investigated for his possible involvement in last week‘s bomb attack on the Batasan Pambansa that killed Basilan Representative Wahab Akbar and three other people, a spokesman of the Philippine Army said.

At the same time, Lieutenant Colonel Ernesto Torres Jr., Army public affairs chief, said the bombers allegedly planned to attack Wahab’s house in a push Pasig City subdivision had they failed to kill him at the Batasan.

Torres said Hajaron Jamiri, former mayor of Tuburan town and a political foe of Akbar, has been transferred to the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in Camp Crame on Tuesday afternoon for inquest proceedings after being originally detained at the Intelligence Security Group (ISG) compound at Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio.

In an earlier interview, Torres had refused to name the former mayor.

Police are readying charges of illegal possession of firearms against Jamiri, officials said.

Jamiri was arrested for carrying an unlicensed .45 caliber pistol around 3 p.m. Monday, some 75 meters from the Don Pepe Inn in Manila's Malate district.

Police and military intelligence operatives raided the inn three hours later Torres after three alleged Abu Sayyaf members who have been charged with multiple murder and multiple frustrated murder before the Department of Justice (DoJ) for the Batasan bombing led the raiding team there, Torres said.

The bomb that was to have been used for "Plan B" of the plot on Akbar was allegedly assembled at the inn, where Jamiri was billeted, Torres said.

Although no actual bomb was recovered in the raid, a security aide of Jamiri, Halik Usman, was arrested while a motorcycle, a helmet and a jacket, all of which bore traces of chemicals known to be used for making bombs were seized. But Usman was later released for lack of evidence, Torres said.

Superintendent Joaquin Alva of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Manila had earlier said bomb experts checked the room occupied by Usman and found traces of nitrate.

“It means an IED (improvised explosive device) was made there. Or at least, the room was exposed to explosive material."

Asked if Jamiri is being investigated over the Batasan attack, Torres said: "He may. Why was he in that place which was identified by the suspects?"

But a police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they have yet to establish if Jamiri was involved in the Batasan bombing.

Torres said the three Abu Sayyaf suspects, who were arrested in a raid on a house in Payatas in which three other suspects died in a shootout, told investigators that "there could be others [in the inn] who could be involved in the plan" to kill Akbar.

"The information we got is that the explosive that will be used on Akbar's house was being prepared there," the spokesman said.

Asked if the alleged attack on Akbar's residence was a back-up plan in case the Batasan bombing failed, Torres said: "That's the information that we got."

Torres added that the traces of bomb components found during the raid "supports that allegation" even if no actual bomb was seized.

Asked if more raids in connection with the Batasan bombing could be expected, Torres said: "Our operations are continuing, many revelations are cropping up in the course of our interrogation."

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In a renewed bid to ensure the success of the peace talks, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has called on the international community to actively support the GRP-MILF peace talks not only in its socio-economic components but more on the political aspect. Muhammad Ameen, head of the MILF Secretariat, told Luwaran by phone that the participation of the international community is crucial in the success of the peace talks by way of a constructive engagement with both the government and the MILF.

“They can be effective stabilizers especially if one or the two Parties feel resorting to more radical approach,” he asserted, adding that the world needs real peace in his part of the globe.
 
He said the international community can also play an active but non-partisan role that could push the Parties to adopt flexible negotiation positions leading to more and more understanding or even concessions to each other, even as he emphasized in unmistakable term that the role of Malaysia as the facilitator shall not be infringed in any manner.

He said that Malaysia, acting as go-between the MILF and the government, has yielded much result to the satisfaction of the Parties.

He explained that the development projects being implemented in the conflict-affected areas (CAAs) in Mindanao by Japan, the United States, and other donor countries and the World Bank are good and welcomed development but can boomerang if the political aspect of the talks stagnates.

For more than one year since September 2006, the talks have been in impasse owing to the widely diverging positions of the government and the MILF, which almost sent them to war on various occasions.

Already yielding a helping hand to the talks, in various shades, are Malaysia, Libya, Brunei, Japan, Canada, Sweden, the United States, and the European Union.

So far, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) has not taken a direct hand in the 10-year old GRP-MILF Peace Talks, which analysts attributed to the fact that it facilitated the GRP-MNLF Peace Talks and the signing of the GRP-MNLF Final Agreement on September 2, 1996.

Meanwhile, the MILF has not given up on seeking the support of Saudi Arabia, which is a very influential member of the OIC.

The MILF believes that once Saudi Arabia supports the current peace talks in Mindanao, it is as good as getting the support of the OIC.

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A senior member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Peace Panel negotiating team has told members of a women’s committee not to be duped by the recent success of the talks in Kuala Lumpur and to bear in mind that the road ahead for the peace process is still full of twists and turns that can easily overturn the direction of the talks. Government and MILF peace negotiators met in Kuala Lumpur in an executive session or special meeting on October 23-24, 2007 with strand territory of the Ancestral Domain Aspect of the Tripoli Agreement of 2001 as the main agenda.


Mohagher Iqbal, chairperson of the MILF peace panel, described the latest success in Kuala Lumpur wherein the Parties managed to hurdle the contentious issues on the immediate areas covered by the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) as a hard earned points for the government and MILF negotiators, just enough to break the more than a year impasse of the talks since September 2006.

The talks deadlocked over the size of the territory of the BJE and how to effect delivery of these areas to the BJE. The government offered small and scattered areas after it conducted a plebiscite. The MILF, on the other hand, wanted a bigger and contiguous areas and without a plebiscite. However, it said that the government can conduct a plebiscite but the MILF is not a party but the result will be to deliver the areas as agreed upon by the Parties.

 Iqbal stressed that the remaining unresolved issues are still more contentious than what have been hurdled by the Parties.

 “Expect more and more deadlocks in the future,” he warned them, even as he consoled them that with a solid organization and the support of the international community the road ahead is not hopeless.

 He paid tribute to the efforts of the Malaysian Government through its chief facilitator Datuk Othman bin Abdul Razak and ably assisted notably by Madame Hasanah binti Abdul Hamid and Ahmad Faris Ahmad, both of the Research Department of the Prime Minister’s Department that made this movement forward possible.

Datuk Othman is currently special adviser to the Prime Minister.

Also in the lead roles in this success were Dato Fauzi bin Daud, head of the Research Department, whose office the peace talks have been channeled. Also deserving equal mention is Dato Zamzamin bin Hashim, deputy head of the Research Department.

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Basilan politics eyed in bombing
By Alcuin Papa, Arlyn dela Cruz
Mindanao Bureau
Last updated 01:55am (Mla time) 11/15/2007


MANILA, Philippines -- By virtue of his “color,” Basilan Rep. Wahab Akbar was the likely target of the bomb that exploded on Tuesday night, the Philippine National Police said Wednesday.

PNP Director General Avelino Razon said at a press conference that among the lawmakers who were at the exit of the south wing of the House of Representatives on that night, Akbar was the “most colorful.”

“We are considering the proximity [of the bomb to its victims]. And from among the group, Representative Akbar had the most color,” said Razon, using a police intelligence term. “As far as threats are concerned, he was the most colorful considering what is happening in Basilan.”

Akbar, 47, was a former member of the Abu Sayyaf who later turned against the extremist group and helped the government in the campaign against it.

But Razon also said the PNP was considering other angles. “We are not totally saying he is the only target,” he said, adding that investigators were still ascertaining the supposed threats on Akbar.

Directional

Director Geary Barias, chief of the National Capital Region Police Office, likewise said Akbar was the “likely target” of the attack because of his position relative to the bomb.

Asked whether the explosion was a terror attack, Barias said: “It looks like an attack, and the possible target is Akbar.”

But Romulo Asis, chief of the National Bureau of Investigation’s Anti-Terrorism Division, said that while the powerful explosion was “directional” and “controlled,” it was premature to say that Akbar was the target.

“There is still no evidence to prove that he was the target; it’s too soon to say that. Although he (Akbar) was the hardest hit, we have yet to determine if the explosive was really intended for him,” Asis told reporters, adding:

“[The bomb went off] in his direction, but it could also be a coincidence: It happened that he was just there.”

Politics

In Isabela City, Akbar’s kin expressed the belief that he was the actual target. But they said they would not speculate on who was behind the attack.

Isabela Mayor Cherrylyn Akbar, one of the lawmaker’s four wives, said her husband’s death had something to do with politics.

“But we want to think first and assess the situation. We will issue a statement later on,” she said.

Chris Puno, Akbar’s spokesperson and information officer of the Basilan provincial government, said he could not think of any other target than his boss. “The bomb was really intended for him,” Puno said, adding that politics was the most likely motive.

“We already have some suspects, but it’s not yet time to reveal their identities,” he said.

Unkaya Pukan Mayor Joel Maturan said the Akbar camp was also eyeing the possible role of the Abu Sayyaf in the attack.

“We already have an idea—politics and the Abu Sayyaf,” Maturan said. “Abu Sayyaf bandits could not have entered Congress if there was no politician behind them.”

Basilan Gov. Jum Akbar, the lawmaker’s first wife, said what had really hurt the family was the fact that her husband was killed in an area where the security was supposed to be tight.

“Why there? How come it happened there?” she asked.

Farouk Madjirul, Akbar’s most trusted bodyguard in Isabela, said the Akbar camp was still in mourning but definitely knew who was behind the explosion.

‘Personality-oriented’

Barias said the target of the attack could not have been the House as an institution: “If that were the case, the bomb would just have been left in one corner, with just the timing device and the explosive.”

He said the mere fact that the bomb was detonated by remote control indicated that there was a target.

“It’s personality-oriented because Representative Akbar seemed to be the closest to the bomb. The bombers could have waited until Akbar was close to the bomb before detonating [it],” Barias said.

Razon said there was “no basis” to say the explosion was part of a plot to destabilize the government.

Both he and Barias admitted that there were lapses in the security of the Batasan Pambansa complex in Quezon City.

Barias said a flea market at the south wing lobby was “contributory” to the lowering of security in the area because it allowed people to come and go.

Senior Supt. Magtanggol Gatdula, director of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD), said investigators had interviewed House Sergeant-at-Arms Bayani Fabie.

Gatdula quoted Fabie, a retired general, as saying that the House security force was “not so strict” with motorcycles “because most of the employees use motorcycles [to get to work].”

Motorcycle riders

A source from the QCPD, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net) that two men riding tandem on a motorcycle were seen speeding out of the Batasan complex just before the explosion.

The source said operatives had been fielded to seek out the motorcycle riders.

The NBI’s Asis said the possibility that the explosion was a terror attack was not being ruled out.

He said NBI bomb experts and chemists had gathered fragments from the blast site.

“As of now, we have yet to establish the purpose of the attackers, and who was/were the target and other things. We cannot speculate,” said Asis. “We don’t want to issue premature or haphazard findings.”

Razon said the entire police force assigned to the Batasan complex, as well as the Senate complex in Pasay City, had been relieved and replaced with a company from the elite PNP Special Action Force.

He said that as a result of the explosion, the PNP in Metro Manila was on full alert, and, in other areas nationwide, on heightened alert.

Evidence

Razon also said the bomb had been planted on one of the motorcycles parked near the south wing entrance and activated by a cellular phone, parts of which were found around 15 meters from the blast site.

“We now have evidence of a bomb, the cell phone [as triggering mechanism], the pieces of nails used as shrapnel. We are still continuing our investigation,” he said.

Despite the claim of a certain Abdul Musaf that the Abu Sayyaf was behind the bombing, Razon said the PNP was not taking this “hook, line and sinker.”

Gatdula said investigators were zeroing in on the motorcycle, a Honda XRM 125, used to deliver the bomb.

“According to our post-blast investigation, the IED (improvised explosive device) came from one of the motorcycles because these were the ones parked near the area,” Razon said.

Gatdula said at least two motorcycles were parked in the area at the time of the explosion. Police have established that one of the motorcycles belonged to Cesar Padlan, a House cameraman.

The other motorcycle is now the subject of police investigation. “But the body number has been removed and the engine number tampered with,” Gatdula said.

He said police were able to get a barcode from the motorcycle, and were checking it with the manufacturer.

He also said police were examining footage from two closed-circuit television cameras near the blast site -- one pointed at the exit bay and another at the parking lot.

‘Sole power’

Even before the official medical confirmation of Akbar’s death on Tuesday night at the FEU Hospital in Quezon City, Puno, his spokesperson, was sending text messages and calling some members of the media to say: “It was, by all indications, an assassination attempt, and Wahab was the target.”

“He is the sole power here; the Akbars are the ones in control of Basilan. Alam mo na (You know), it’s a domino effect. There is somebody, he can pay, he can make this happen to Wahab,” said Puno, his voice high and tense.

Apart from Akbar’s first wife (the governor of Basilan) and second wife (mayor of Isabela), his relatives or allies are town mayors, according to Puno.

His third wife sought another mayoral post but lost. (His fourth wife is a Syrian.)

Wednesday morning, Puno was more circumspect in responding to the question of whether the Akbars had pinpointed the possible mastermind of the attack.

“No angle yet to blame anyone, although it could be someone who was his mortal enemy,” Puno said.

He refused to give a name, but said: “It’s an open secret here in Basilan.”

Political rival

One of the publicly known political opponents of Akbar in Basilan is former Rep. Gerry Salapuddin.

But he told the Inquirer: “We do not know what happened, or who did it. I am here living in silence in the province. I was not there when it happened. We can only assume that there are lots of angles here.”

In talking of possible angles, Salapuddin said he would not be surprised if his name was dragged into the supposed assassination of Akbar. In fact, he said, his allies in Basilan had warned him of this possibility.

“We are anticipating that fingers will be pointed at political rivals of Wahab,” Salapuddin said. “But the public should be reminded that Wahab was one of the founders of the Abu Sayyaf, and that he was also the one who betrayed them so he could save his own skin.”

Salapuddin was governor of Basilan when the Abu Sayyaf conducted its initial terror attacks and kidnappings.

At that time, Akbar was the Abu Sayyaf’s “preacher” who even fought in its first major encounter with Marine forces in Upper Kapayawan, Lantawan, Basilan -- the base of the group’s first major camp called Al-Madinah (gateway to heaven).

Salapuddin said there were other groups in Basilan who had a “silent grudge” against Akbar.

Strongest motive

But he added: “The Abu Sayyaf has the strongest motive. Imagine, after Wahab taught them jihad (holy war), it was he who would betray them, have them jailed, and even killed.” With reports from Julie Alipala, Charlie Señase, Richel Umel and Jeffrey Tupas, Inquirer Mindanao; Tina G. Santos and Jeannette I. Andrade in Manila

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By Maila Ager, Thea Alberto, Nonoy Espina, Joel Guinto, Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
INQUIRER.net
Last updated 03:58am (Mla time) 11/14/2007


MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATE 19) A bomb exploded at the House of Representatives in Quezon City Tuesday evening killing Basilan Representative Wahab Akbar, the driver of another lawmaker and a member of the staff of yet another solon.

Two other lawmakers and five more persons were also wounded in the explosion, just minutes after the House adjourned its plenary session a little past 8 p.m.

Aside from Akbar, the explosion also killed Marcial Tando, driver of Gabriela party-list Representative Luzviminda Ilagan, and 30-year-old Maan Gale Bustalino (not Bustanillo as earlier reported), a member of the staff of Negros Oriental Representative Pryde Henry Teves.

Both Ilagan and Teves were also wounded in the explosion.

House Speaker Jose de Venecia said a bomb caused the explosion, which came on the eve of the resumption of a congressional hearing that is likely to result in the squelching of an impeachment complaint against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

“I mention the possibility of a terrorist, an anarchist or an extremist who wants to destabilize ... the national government,” De Venecia said.

In a televised statement at midnight, Ms Arroyo said she would like to assure Filipinos and foreign countries that her government would hunt down those responsible.

“We call on the people to avoid speculation, allegations and rumors that might create confusion, fear and divisions,” she said.

Philippine National Police Director General Avelino Razon Jr. said Doctor Arnold Corpus declared the congressman dead at the Far Eastern University Hospital at around 10:25 p.m.

Ms Arroyo went to the hospital a little past 1 a.m. to condole with Akbar’s family. From there she proceeded to St. Luke’s Medical Center at around 2 a.m. where Representatives Ilagan and Teves and three other victims were being treated.

She went straight to the rooms of the lawmakers, who have been both declared in stable condition after sustaining injuries from the blast.

Ilagan said she was walking to her car when "there was a sudden explosion."

"I was heading to my car because the session had already adjourned. When we were going down the south wing, there was a sudden explosion," Ilagan said from a hospital. "I managed to walk but after a while I stumbled and realized my feet were bloodied and I couldn't stand up anymore," she told Agence France-Presse.

"My driver did not make it," she added.

Mayor Talib Pawaki of Hadji Muhamad Ajul town in Basilan province said Akbar sustained “massive head injuries,” including a fracture, but was still alive when brought to the hospital.

Akbar’s body will be flown home to Basilan at 3 a.m. Wednesday on a C130 plane in keeping with Muslim tradition to bury the dead within 24 hours.

National Capital Region Police Director Geary Barias said Akbar was the likely target of the bombing but added that they still had to confirm this.

He said Tando, who was identified through his identification card, died on the spot and suffered “a very big wound” in his nape. His body will be brought either to the police crime laboratory or the National Bureau of Investigation for autopsy.

Iloilo Representative Janet Garin, a medical doctor who helped evacuate the wounded, told news television that Bustalino died at the Capitol Medical Center where she was rushed when her vital signs deteriorated as she was being transferred to the St. Luke’s Medical Center from the General Miguel Malvar hospital on Commonwealth Avenue.

Barias said they suspect an improvised explosive device was apparently left on a motorcycle parked near Ilagan’s vehicle and was remotely detonated because “the explosion occurred immediately after the suspension of the session at 8:05 p.m.”

He could not immediately describe the type of explosive. He said no bomb parts so far had been retrieved.

He added that they were looking at one of two motorcycles parked a few meters from the south wing lobby of the Batasan as the carrier of the bomb. The explosion left a three-foot crater.

He said they are questioning a cameraman of the House of Representatives who owned one of two motorcycles but were not taking him into custody.

Gabriela party-list Representative Liza Maza, also identified another of the wounded as her driver Mike Lim. She said Ilagan, Lim and Tando were rushed to the nearby Miguel Malvar Hospital.

Although he suffered blast injuries, including second and third degree burns and shrapnel wounds to the face and body, Teves was no longer in serious condition, his grandfather and predecessor, Herminio Teves, told INQUIRER.net.

Earlier, Dr. Ven Malabanan of the New Era General Hospital, where Teves was first rushed, said the solon was in "very critical condition" and had to be transferred to St. Luke’s. "He had to be transferred because he needs to be [admitted to] the Intensive Care Unit," Malabanan said.

Two other victims, Nulasiri Hayugini (not Julasiri 'Niki' Hayudin as earlier reported) and Denis Manila remain at New Era. Dr. Mike Brillantes described Hayudini as also in critical condition, with shrapnel wounds and burns all over her body and a left leg that might have to be amputated.

Malabanan also said Hayugini is intubated and unstable while Manila might need to undergo surgery for deep shrapnel wounds.

Maza said she had looked out her office window on hearing the explosion and saw Ilagan’s car on the driveway of the south wing of the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City and next to Akbar’s Fortuner sports utility vehicle, which was on fire.

Representatives who were still inside the Batasan when the explosion occurred were initially prevented from leaving to allow police to clear the building.

The Gabriela solon said she and Ilagan had left the session hall together but her colleague went straight to the south wing to leave while she passed by her office.

“I heard a loud explosion and thought at first it was thunder but realized it was too loud to be thunder,” Maza said. “When I looked out my window, I saw a vehicle on fire and near that vehicle was the car of Congresswoman Ilagan.”

She said she immediately sent a member of her staff down to check the situation and was told “there were bodies sprawled throughout the lobby.”

Reacting to Akbar’s death, Secretary Jesus Dureza, presidential adviser on the peace process, said: "I am saddened to know that a good friend and a leader in Basilan is among the casualties. Whatever the reasons and motives are, whether he is the target or the intended victim, we would have to leave that to the authorities to investigate."

"We grieve for him," he told Agence France-Presse.

He said Akbar had helped the government in its anti-terrorism campaign against the Abu Sayyaf group on Basilan island, where the militants are on the run from a massive military manhunt.

Akbar, 47, had twice served as governor of Basilan, a known stronghold of the extremist Abu Sayyaf.

He had spoken in the past of links to Abubakar Abdurajak Janjalani, an Afghan-trained Islamic firebrand who founded the Abu Sayyaf.

Janjalani was killed in a gunbattle with police in 1998, and Akbar severed ties with the group, later joining the mainstream and seeking an elective post.

Akbar also had known political enemies in Basilan, where politicians maintain private armies and often engage authorities in attacks.

De Venecia said he had ordered a "clean sweep" of the sprawling Batasan complex to ensure "there are no other bombs that are left behind."

Congressman Joel Villanueva said less than 50 of the House's 275 members were left inside when the bomb exploded.

"It was a very huge explosion," Villanueva said. "We are stunned."

"I heard it and I felt the blast although I was on the other side of the building. The ceiling of the canopy near the south wing entrance came down," Bayan Muna (People First) party-list Representative Teodoro Casiño told The Associated Press.

Philippine National Police Director General Avelino Razon, who has arrived at the Batasan, is under orders from Ms Arroyo to personally supervise the investigation of the explosion, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said.

Bunye said Razon is under instructions to determine the cause of the explosion and make periodic reports to Arroyo.

De Venecia said the usual House session would resume Wednesday after an overnight security sweep of the Batasan compound. “We have to show that we are not afraid of terrorists,” he said.

He condemned “in the strongest terms this cowardly and dastardly attack against the House of Representatives.”

“I was lucky. I had left a few minutes before the explosion,” De Venecia said. “There are many threats against us personally, against some members of the House.”

He said he had spoken with the Ms Arroyo. “The President is very concerned about what took place here because it was only a few weeks ago that the Glorietta incident took place.

Rep. Prospero Nograles said that the bomb attack at the Batasan was a first. He said security measures were being reviewed there. He said security was lax Tuesday night, pointing out that a pre-Christmas flea market had been set up on the Batasan grounds by the employees’ cooperative.

Troops went on heightened alert in Metro Manila and checkpoints were set up in strategic streets.

The House explosion occurred amid heightened political tensions in the country, with Arroyo facing a third impeachment complaint in as many years amid a barrage of political storms, corruption scandals and a feisty opposition.

Metro Manila has been jittery since last month, when an explosion ripped through the Glorietta 2 mall in Makati City, killing 11 people and injuring more than 100. Police say the mall explosion was an accident.

With reports from Norman Bordadora, Alcuin Papa, Christian V. Esguerra, TJ Burgonio, Jeannette Andrade, Julie Aurelio and Nikko Dizon of Philippine Daily Inquirer; Agence France-Presse and Associated Press
 

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MAKKAH, 9 November 2007 — The Islamic Jurisprudence Council banned the use of the verses of the Holy Qur’an as ringtones for mobile phones because it impinges on the sacred character of the Muslim Holy Book, the Saudi Press Agency reported yesterday.

“It is demeaning and degrading to the verses of the Holy Book to stop abruptly at the middle of a recitation or neglecting the recitation, as happens when they are used as ringtones in mobile phones. On the other hand, recording the verses from the Holy Qur’an in phone sets with the intention of recitation and listening is a virtuous act,” the scholars attending the council said in a statement.

During the six-day meeting of the council in Makkah, which began Nov. 3 under the chairmanship of Grand Mufti Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh, 70 Muslim dignitaries and scholars tackled a number of important issues. On behalf of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal opened the first session of the council.

The council decided that Muslims are permitted to determine the sex of a fetus provided it was a medical necessity, such as when ascertaining diseases that are suspected to affect boys and not girls, and vice versa. The council said three doctors would be required to confirm the medical necessity of the procedure.

The council also approved damaging an ovary that could lead to a disabled child, but said that trying to control the sex of a child was strictly prohibited.

The council also encouraged Muslims in the West to participate in elections in non-Muslim countries and play an effective political role, especially if elections brought about public good or prevented social evils.

It said this was the only way for Muslims abroad to secure their rights.

It also encouraged Muslims in the West to integrate into Western societies but cautioned them against adopting any Western habits that are contrary to the principles of Islam.

Those who presented papers included Sheikh Muhammad ibn Abdullah Al-Subeyel, imam of the Grand Mosque. In the concluding session yesterday, the Islamic Jurisprudence Council emphasized that dialogue with non-Muslims supported by well-prepared media programs are essential in confronting anti-Islamic campaigns.

The council called on Pakistanis and Palestinians to stand united in solving their problems.

Islamic scholars from various parts of the world, who attended the conference, also called for the upholding of Islamic unity and adherence to the Holy Qur’an and Sunnah (Tradition of the Prophet), while tackling issues affecting Muslim countries such as Iraq, Somalia and Afghanistan

Source: arabnews.com

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