Politics as usual after Manila blast 

Philippine politicians busied themselves with corruption probes resuming business as usual after a bomb attack on Congress killed three people and wounded 10 in the suspected assassination of a Muslim lawmaker.

In the lower house, where Tuesday night's explosion tore the roof off a lobby, a justice committee junked an impeachment complaint against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo related to a recent kickbacks scandal.

In the Senate, over an hour's drive southwest of the lower house, senators probed allegations of cash handouts to the president's allies.

"The work must go on," said Matias Defensor, chair of the House of Representatives' Justice Committee, which voted 43-1 against the impeachment complaint.

The lower house will vote whether to accept the committee's ruling but it is expected to be junked by Arroyo's allies, who hold a majority.

The remains of Wahab Akbar, who represented the restive southern island of Basilan, arrived home for burial.

Police said Akbar, who had clashed with Muslim militants operating from Basilan, was the likely target of Tuesday's blast, which also killed a driver and a congressional aide.

Other lawmakers were injured in the explosion and Manila's police chief said they were also checking to see if they could have been targets. No one has claimed responsibility.

"Among the group, it is Akbar who has the more colourful life, who has the more threats," Avelino Razon told reporters.

"We have now evidence of a bomb. We have a cell phone, pieces of nails that were used as shrapnel. We have a motorcycle that we believe was where the bomb was placed."

Although it was the first attack on a central government building and comes less than a month after an explosion killed 11 people in a Manila mall, investors shrugged off the blast.

"It is unnerving, that is true, but it does not affect the fundamental forces that drive the economy," said Luz Lorenzo, analyst with ATR-Kim Eng Securities in Manila.

"Sentiment may be affected temporarily, but if it is addressed properly then it should not do any permanent damage."

The stock market climbed 2.28% echoing a regional rise after Wall Street's rally while the peso, Asia's best performing currency this year, was quoted at 42.91 against the dollar.

Political violence

Political murders are common in the Philippines as are small-scale bombings in the south, where there are long-running communist and Muslim insurgencies.

Akbar had recently clashed with Muslim terror group Abu Sayyaf. Security sources said the lawmaker, whose family runs Basilan, had suspected links with the extremists.

Nearly 140 people are believed to have been killed in congressional elections in May and a senior election official was shot dead in Manila.

Arroyo created a cabinet-level task force to end political violence after putting Manila and provinces north and south of the capital under a state of alert.

Manila's residents are still awaiting final confirmation of what triggered last month's explosion in the Glorietta mall. The police have said a build-up of gases was the likely cause but the owners of the shopping centre, Ayala Land, have disputed that.

Political noise has increased in recent months against Arroyo, who has already survived two impeachment attempts.

But analysts expect the former economist, who is facing renewed corruption allegations, will see out her final term, ending in 2010, due to a majority in the lower house, a growing economy and a lack of a viable replacement.