House, Senate leaders condemn blast, say solons won't be cowed

Lawmakers on Tuesday condemned the blast that rocked the Batasan complex, adding that this would not cow them into submission. House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr said that it will be business as usual for the Lower House on Wednesday except for a few minutes of silence for those killed and injured in Tuesday night's blast, all scheduled hearings and sessions will take place on Wednesday. Senate President Manny Villar echoed De Venecia's sentiment in a radio interview, saying that the Senate would not be cowed and that the hearings into allegations that "cash gifts" were given to lawmakers during a Malacanang meeting would continue. "There will be session tomorrow, we will make a clean sweep of the building. We are not afraid. We want the situation to normalize as quickly as possible," De Venecia told reporters. "Tuloy ang impeachment proceedings (The impeachment proceedings will push through)," De Venecia added, when asked if the impeachment proceedings against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will still go on. The House committee on justice was to take up whether the Pulido impeachment complaint against Mrs Arroyo is sufficient in substance. The committee ruled it sufficient in form Monday. For her part, Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros said that the blast was probably caused by a bomb and that whoever planted the bomb wanted to scare the institution and the public in general. "It is meant to injure and scare members of Congress, especially since it was timed immediately after the adjournment of the session," she said, noting that most of the congressmen and women were about to leave Congress. "But whatever the agenda or demand may be, this act of desperation would not succeed. We are not scared. And we urge the public not to allow acts of terrorism to cause panic, since this is the motivation behind the act. We need to show to them that the nation is united in condemning the bombing," Hontiveros said as she offered prayers and solidarity to those who were hurt by the incident. According to initial reports, a driver in Congress died due to the incident. Martial Law She also warned against using this incident to threaten democracy. "We cannot help but fear that this would lead to the declaration of Martial Law or a state of emergency to give way to repressive acts. We caution the government against using the bombing to institute repressive measures," Hontiveros said. De Venecia met with PNP chief Director General Avelino Razon Jr and Metro Manila police chief Director Geary Barias after returning to the House complex. "We cannot rule out anything until the investigation is completed. Even the (blast) at Glorietta 2, we still don't know the final findings," he said. "We will have to decide whether we have to augment security at the House of Representatives," he added. - GMANews.TV