he relative calm of Philippine politics of late has been shattered by a bomb blast that occurred late Tuesday evening at the Batasan Pambansa (Philippine House of Representatives) building in Metro Manila. The bomb which went off in front of the building killed at least three people. Basilan Representative Wahab Akbar, was one of the casualties, along with a driver and staff member of two other congressmen. Scores were injured from the powerful blast which destroyed part of the foyer of the Batasan and several vehicles parked nearby.

The bomb blast happened a day before the House was supposed to take up the issue of President Arroyo's impeachment complaint, a complaint that was almost destined for dismissal given the number of the President's backers in the house.

Filipinos, having lived through the decades of deception and lies of Ferdinand Marcos' dictatorial regime, wait with bated breath so see what happens next. Is this a ruse by the administration to declare Martial Law? Is it the Estrada camp trying to destabilize the government? Is it the Abu Sayyaf or other Muslim terrorists vying for international attention? Only if Philippine investigators, team up with their international counterparts, will Filipinos—especially those living abroad who lived through Marcos's martial law years—be less skeptical of the findings.