On Tuesday evening a bomb exploded at the entrance of the Philippine House of Representatives killing a legislator’s driver and wounding seven others, including three lawmakers.

The explosion happened at about 8:15 p.m. and hit the south lobby of the main building of the House of Representatives. The three lawmakers wounded were Represenatives Luz Ilagan, Wahab Akbar and Pryde Henry Teves, the New York Times reports.

José de Venecia Jr., House speaker said: “I would like to condemn in the strongest terms this cowardly and dastardly attack against the House of Representatives.”

He said that after a “clean sweep” of the House made by the police, he claimed the resumption of the Congress on Wednesday. He called the explosion a terrorist act.

In the statement he issued he said: “Certainly this is another attempt at destabilization and creating chaos and anarchy. Only terrorists explode bombs.”

However, the police refuse to name it a terrorist act.

“We’re still trying to find out what happened, where the explosion actually took place,” Geary Barias, the police chief of the Manila, said to reports.

Due to the explosion the south wing caught fire and caused the ceiling of the foyer to collapse. Three vehicles were damaged and debris and twisted steel were scattered at the blast site.

The explosion occurred just a few minutes after the session ended and, according to a member from Ms. Ilagan’s staff, the congresswoman’s van was damaged and also Mr. Akbar’s vehicle.

An eye witness said that the explosion came from a car parked outside.

This incident comes weeks later after a similar one occurred in a shopping mall killing 11 people and injuring other 100. At first it was thought that it was a terrorist act, but it was proved that it was an industrial accident.

The Philippines is known for being the home to several terrorist groups, like the Abu Sayyaf. Abu Sayyaf terrorists are to blame for the worst attack in the country’s history that occurred in 2004 when it sunk a ferry in Manila Bay, killing 100 people.