1993, though slowly obscured with time, will always be remembered by witnesses for the three events, two of them tragic and gained global coverage.
On October 23, 1993, the two-story New Diamond Lodge at the corner of Pichon Sr. and Feliciano Iñigo streets was hit by a fire that cost nine lives and injuries to thirty others. The victims were mostly students of the Mindanao State University (MSU) on a field trip in the city.
The United Press International (UPI), a global wire agency that source its account (‘Seven killed, 30 injured in fire in southern Philippines’) from news heard over radio station DZXL in Manila, initially reported that seven people killed and several survivors were “treated for fractures suffered when they jumped to safety.”
For its part, the Singapore-based The Strait Times, a day later, carried an updated version (‘9 killed in Philippine lodge fire’) of tragedy: “Davao fire swept through a lodge where students on a field trip were staying, killing nine people and injuring scores… Some survivors of the early morning fire said they had to jump from the windows of the two-story New Diamond Lodge.”
Police probers discovered that the lodge did not have a fire escape and the stairway and aisles dividing the rooms on both floors were too narrow for the occupants to escape in a hurry.
Exactly two months later, San Pedro Cathedral, while a Mass was held inside it, was hit by three bombs. Manila Standard Today reported that the first bomb hit the center aisle, then followed by another near the altar, and the final was at the main entrance of the church, adding “the blast killed seven people and injured 151 others, 32 of them seriously.”
This was the second time in 18 years that the cathedral was bombed. In April 1981, during an Easter celebration, grenades were exploded inside and outside the church, resulting in nearly two dozen deaths and close to 200 churchgoers injured.
Citing police and military sources, the perpetrators in the second bombing incident belonged to a “Muslim terrorist group.”
The New York Times, in its December 27, 1993 issue, also carried an account of the story (‘6 Killed and 130 Are Wounded In Blasts at Philippine Cathedral’) and its aftermath:
“Attackers tossed grenades into a packed Roman Catholic cathedral in the southern Philippines Sunday evening, killing at least 6 people and wounding more than 130.
“President Fidel Ramos said today that he had ordered a hunt for those who carried out the attack.
“Eight hours after the attack, suspected Christian militants retaliated by firing two grenades at a Muslim mosque. One exploded, but there were no casualties, the police said.
“Red Cross officials put the death toll from the attack on San Pedro Cathedral at 7, but the police in Davao said they had confirmed 6 dead.”
Earlier that month, however, Davao’s first real mall, Victoria Plaza, was fully opened to the public. Owned by Robert Allan Limso, the two-story enterprise, which had its soft opening a year earlier, became the hangout of mall rats. It later became a cultural hub and indoor family plaza.
Situated two kilometers north of the city’s central business district, the mall became the catalyst that would ignite development in adjacent areas, especially Obrero district, a residential area and host to two academic campuses. Outside the mall, is a sprawling area that once hosted music lounges, pubs, Chinese and Filipino restaurants, and has been the superstore’s parking lot.
In 2019, the entire complex was taken over by the New City Commercial Corporation (NCCC), a homegrown mall owner, from the banking institution that foreclosed it. It is being developed into a mixed-use complex that will be home to skyscrapers and condominiums.
