Davao was Asia’s “MURDER CITY” in the past

By Henrylito D. Tacio
“If you’ve heard stories from old-timers about Davao in the mid-1980’s, most of them are probably true. No one would even want to touch this southern city with a 10-foot pole. Just name anything that will force people here to pack up their bags and leave this city during those days, this city had it: killings, robberies, thefts, rapes, kidnappings and even urban warfare between cops, soldiers and communist guerrillas.” — Aurelio A. Peña in a news report
“MURDER City” — that was how the defunct Asiaweek described Davao City in the early 1980s. Each day, some two to three people were killed and thrown in the ditch. Foreigners and even those from nearby provinces shunned what became the country’s “killing fields” (a sobriquet bestowed on Cambodia once upon a time).
At one time, Davao City was touted as the Nicaragua of the Philippines. In fact, Agdao — a main business district which hosts a large slum area located in the city proper — was the bastion of killings and earned the nickname “Nicaragdao.”
However, killing and hostilities were not confined only in Agdao but also happened in other parts of the city. One scribe wrote: “Criminalities were commonplace in the most parts of the suburbs, summary killings were widespread. The communist movement had established its ranks and penetrated most of the major districts of Davao and those who did not cooperate in their cause were punished and tortured to death. Fear and terror prevailed amongst its people and the city never dared to crawl to little progress.”
Alsa Masa
It was just a matter of time that the “Alsa Masa” (literally “the rise of the masses”) came into existence. In his Sun Star Davao column, Jun Ledesma made a lengthy discussion on how the uprising against the communist regime came:
“The rich families left Davao. Those who had no means stayed. Terror reigned. The CPP/NPA (Communist Party of the Philippines/New People’s Army) fronts grew in number but the source of funds to support and sustain their operations dwindled. The tax collectors now turned to their mass base for two tsupas of rice and a can of sardine from each family. As if these were not enough, they raised it to a ganta of rice plus P50 each week. Scared that they would be dealt with capital punishment, squatter families strived hard to produce the ‘aid’ for the people’s revolution. The mass base was gripped in fear and hunger.”
According to Ledesma, terror ended when three armed partisan assigned to collect taxes were rounded up by a team of Sparrows. “People were herded in a square in Gotamco, which used to be a basketball ground then. There, they witnessed the execution of three young partisans for failing to turn over their collection quota,” he wrote in his column.
One of those who executed was named Lamorena, who had several relatives and intimate friends in Agdao. “He was a young man with dreams and hopes for his parents to be liberated from poverty. He believed that joining the revolution would be the key to realizing his dreams. He had relatives in the movement and it was easy for him to be drafted as a young partisan and was assigned the task to collect revolutionary taxes. Unfortunately for him, the big taxpayers had abandoned the city and the poor communities barely had any more means.
“His death triggered the shift. His kin, some of them leaders of armed partisans, distanced themselves from the Sparrows and the hardcore among the NPA. Quickly the spirit of mass uprising against the NPA spread like wildfire that engulfed Agdao, the ghettos in the stretch of Quezon Boulevard all the way to Punta Dumalag. The hunters became the hunted and they were dealt with the same gruesome style of execution.”
The bombings San Pedro Cathedral
San Pedro Cathedral, situated at the very heart of the city right across the Sangguniang Panlungsod (City Council) building, is the oldest church in Davao City. The city’s premier historical landmark, it is now recognized as a National Cultural Treasure.
The original structure was built in 1847 during the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors and was named after San Pedro, Davao’s patron saint.
On Easter Sunday of April 1981, two grenades were thrown into the congregation as the traditional Easter service was concluding.
Floren Baltazar, who practically lived around the Cathedral selling religious items at the church ground, told Davao Today of what happened that particular day. “I can’t say how many died, but I remember that it took five fire trucks to clean up the blood, in the aftermath of the incident.”
According to Manila Standard Today, the blast killed 17 people and injured 150 others. There were several groups suspected of the bombing, among them the NPA.
Twelve years later, during a mass in December in 1993, another bombing incident happened in the same Cathedral. This time, only seven people were killed but about 151 others were injured, 32 seriously.
Dory Flaviano, publisher of a Davao daily who witnessed the bombing, said there were three bombs that exploded. The first one blew up at the center aisle. The second bomb went off near the altar, while the third one shattered the main entrance fronting San Pedro Street.
“I have no idea what the motives are but it is an inhuman act,” Rev. Fr. Bong Dublan, who was leading the worship, was quoted as saying by Manila Standard Today.
A few days later, two motorcycle-riding men threw a grenade at a mosque, a few blocks away from the San Pedro Cathedral.
Bombing at the airport and Sasa wharf
Aside from the two bombings that happened in San Pedro Cathedral, two more bombings took place in the city: one at the Davao International Airport and another one at the Sasa wharf.
On March 4, 2003, a bomb which was planted inside a backpack exploded in the waiting shed outside the old airport terminal building. Twenty-one people were killed and at least 148 others injured.
One of those who died was William P. Hyde, an American missionary from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He died “in surgery from head and leg injuries.”
According to reports, Hyde was there to fetch fellow American missionaries. “I just heard it explode to my side,” recalled American missionary Barbara Wallis Stevens, who was wounded slightly. “I was carrying my infant son so I grabbed my daughter and picked her up and ran away. I was afraid there could be more bombs.”
Almost a month later, another bomb exploded at the Sasa wharf. Seventeen perished, including children. In addition, 56 others were injured. (To be concluded)