Let’s travel back in time, particularly during the 1950s and the mid-1960s. In those years, Davao City was described by Wikipedia as “peaceful” and “increasingly progressive.”
Those were the days when “ethnic tensions were minimal and there was essentially no presence of secessionist groups in Mindanao.”
Everything changed, however, when the economic crisis hit the country in late 1969. “Violent crackdowns on protests led to the radicalization of many students throughout the country,” Wikipedia stated.
“With no way to express their grievances about government abuses after the declaration of Martial law in 1972, many of them joined the New People’s Army (NPA), bringing the communist rebellion in the Philippines to Davao and the rest of Mindanao for the first time,” the free encyclopedia pointed out.
When Mindanao became one of the hotbeds of the NPA insurgency, violence in Davao City also became severe. “The NPA, too, had become responsible for numerous abuses,” Wikipedia noted. “In 1985, locals formed the vigilante group, ‘Alsa Masa’ (People’s Rise) to counter them.”
It was at this time that Davao City became the country’s “killing fields” (a sobriquet bestowed by Western press to Cambodia once upon a time). According to some reports, some two to three people were killed and thrown in the ditch daily.
In 1985, William Branigin wrote this vignette for the Washington Post: “Jose Velasco reached into a drawer of his desk and pulled out a stack of color photographs. Better than any statistics, they illustrate why this southern city, the country’s third largest, has acquired a reputation as the Philippines’ ‘murder capital.’
“As manager of Davao’s DXMF radio station, Velasco has taken it upon himself to document the mounting murder rate here that has accompanied intensified warfare between guerrillas of the Communist NPA and the armed forces of the President Ferdinand Marcos. So far this year, he has counted more than 530 killings in Davao City…”
Davao City was also known as the Nicaragua of the Philippines. Agdao – a main business district which hosted a large slum area – was the stronghold of killings that earned the nickname “Nicaragdao” (a combination of Nicaragua and Agdao).
But the killings and hostilities were not confined only to Agdao but also in other parts of the city. One veteran scribe wrote: “Criminalities were commonplace in 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.”
In the foreign press, Davao City made it to the headlines around the world because of the several bombings that happened in the city.
San Pedro Cathedral, situated at the very heart of the city right, which is now across the 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.
On Easter Sunday of April 1981, two grenades were thrown into the congregation as the traditional Easter service was concluding in the cathedral.
(Twelve years later, during a mass in December in 1993, another bombing incident happened in the same place. A few days later after the second bombing, two motorcycle-riding men threw a grenade at a mosque, a few blocks away from the San Pedro Cathedral.)
In the meantime, some prominent city figures did their own ways to speak out against what was happening to the metropolis. One of them was Soledad Duterte, who organized a protest group called the “Yellow Friday Movement,” which gained support from the people.
A snap election was held. Corazon C. Aquino, the widow of Benigno Aquino, was declared winner but Marcos wouldn’t step down. A series of demonstrations and a sustained campaign of civil resistance against regime violence and electoral fraud followed.
Then, what happened next was the famed People Power Revolution – also known as EDSA Revolution – which led to the hurried departure of Marcos and his family (and some cohorts) to Hawaii.
Aquino was installed as the new president. Those who were closely associated with the Marcos were removed from their posts. Aquino appointed Rodrigo R. Duterte as temporary vice mayor of Davao City. Later on, he ran and took the top office from 1988 to 1998, from 2001 to 2010, and yet again from 2013 to 2016.
It was at the time of the mayorship of Duterte that Davao City was stripped of the moniker “murder city,” which was bestowed by the defunct Asiaweek.
Today, our research listed Davao City as one of the world’s safest cities. It was ranked fifth. Its crime index was 18.18; the safety index was 81.82. Strangers, including foreigners, need not worry about abusive taxi drivers and locals. Criminals reportedly have no place in the city.
Davao City has received several recognitions, including the most child-friendly. The city’s 911 team is described as “highly efficient” and rules are strictly implemented. The water, considered one of the world’s best, is safe and potable.
Today, Davao City is the trade and commerce center of Mindanao. It is just one hour and thirty minutes by plane from Manila (45 minutes if from Cebu City). Davao is also the gateway to East Asian countries, particularly Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.
