On September 2, 2016, Davao City caught the attention of the world when an improvised bomb exploded at around 10:20 p.m. on corner Padre Gomez Street and Roxas Avenue. More than 60 people were reportedly injured and left 16 people dead.
In a statement issued to the media on the early morning of the following day, then Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte said: “Let us pray for the victims of this unfortunate incident, especially for those who died. Let us pray for those who are being treated in different hospitals and pray for their quick recovery. Right now, we cannot yet give a definite answer as to who is behind this as we are also trying to determine what really exploded.”
Bombing, indeed, is nothing new in Davao City.
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.
Four months after Martial Law was lifted, the first bombing incident happened on Easter Sunday of April 1981 when two grenades were thrown into the congregation at the San Pedro Cathedral as the traditional Easter service was concluding.
Floren Baltazar, who lived most of his life around the Cathedral selling religious items at the church ground, told Davao Today: “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,” he was quoted as saying.
According to Manila Standard Today, the blast killed 17 people and injured 157 others. There were several groups suspected of the bombing, among them were the New People’s Army (NPA).
Twelve years later, in 1993, during a mass in December in 1993, another bombing incident happened in the same Cathedral. It happened three days after Christmas; seven people were killed but about 151 others were injured, of which 32 of them were seriously wounded.
Eight hours after the incident, two motorcycle-riding men – suspected to be Christian militants – threw a grenade at a mosque, a few blocks away from the San Pedro Cathedral. No one was hurt.
Aside from the two bombings that happened in San Pedro Cathedral, there were several other bombings that happened in the city.
On March 16, 2002, a bomb exploded inside one of the rooms of Evergreen Hotel. The explosion broke the legs of Michael Terrence Meiring, an American who identified himself as a treasure hunter and joked that he was part of the Central Intelligence Agency.
On the afternoon of March 4, 2003, a bomb placed inside a backpack blasted in the waiting shed outside the old airport terminal building. The bomb blew off the shelter’s roof panels, and shrapnel from the bomb blast tore into hose waiting in or near the shelter. Some 22 people were reported killed and at least 148 others injured.
Barely a month later, on April 3, another bomb – which was placed in a barbecue stall – detonated at the entrance of Sasa wharf, the main dock for Davao City, where cargo ships and passenger ferries land. About 16 perished, including four policemen, a nun, and children. In addition, 46 others were injured.
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, then the president, said of the incident: “This is a grim reminder that we must always be alert and watchful, and those who wish to do us harm in a manner that creates a wide swatch of fear must not intimidate us.”
She urged the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police to do a crackdown on the perpetrators.
“The 2003 twin bombings triggered of a series of mystery bombings all over Mindanao,” Sunstar Davao’s Tyrone Velez wrote. “The Mindanao Truth Commission probed that all over, arrests were made on Moro civilians as suspects, but all were released later on for lack of evidence. The Moro civilians testified that they were forced and assaulted by investigators to admit to the crimes.”
On February 14, 2005, while most lovers were busy having their Valentine’s Day celebration, an improvised explosive device exploded and ripped the Davao City Overland Terminal in Ecoland at around 6 in the evening. A 12-year-old vendor was killed. The incident was part of a series of bombings that were executed in a shopping mall in General Santos City and in a bus in the Makati financial district.
“These incidents clearly exposed the bankruptcy of the terrorists’ cause,” Atty. Jesus Dureza, then the chair of Mindanao Economic Development Council, stressed. “They should not be allowed to rule our lives.”
On September 17, 2013, two bombs exploded inside the cinemas. The first one happened at SM Davao Cinema-1, with the improvised explosive device placed on the chair. The second incident occurred at Gaisano Cinema 5. Police investigators found the explosives were placed in beverage containers.
No one perished from both bombings although five people from the Gaisano blast were brought to the hospital after they temporarily lost hearing because of loud explosion. They were released later on.
“Through all these attacks, Davaoeños have become much stronger and united,” veteran journalist Editha Caduaya observed.
Yes, today, Davao is still one of the safest cities in the country. As Dr. Roy Estigoy, who’s from Luzon, puts it: “Davao City is my second home because I have familiarized myself with the place and have imbibed some of its local culture. I am not afraid to go out late at night or early morning because I felt so secure.”
Mabuhay ang Davao City.
