WHO would have thought that the grim narrative following the shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, would find its way back to our shores? Specifically, to Davao City?
Reports indicate that the two perpetrators — a father and son team identified as Naveed Akram, 50, and Sajid Akram, 24 — stayed in this country from November 1 to 28. Speculations are now rife that they spent that month in Davao to conduct "military-style training."
The attack left 16 dead and over 50 wounded. The father was killed, while the son fell into a coma before later awaking. What was supposed to be a celebration by the Jewish community turned into a scene of carnage.
The aftermath has the national government scrambling with damage control. Countries like Canada are reportedly issuing travel advisories, warning citizens to steer clear.
And why, oh why, did they train in that specific city in Mindanao?
It is, after all, touted as "the safest city" in the world — or so the citizens and authorities there claim. I used to believe it, too. I have visited several times. Once, during a New Year’s celebration, there were no outbursts of gunfire or firecrackers; just safe "noise" alternatives, like banging on kettles.
On another occasion, I attended a relative's birthday party. There was singing, dancing, speeches, and mild drinking. Yet, the celebration abruptly stopped at 10:00 p.m. In any other place in the country, such a party — especially for a lawyer — would have lasted until dawn.
"Really, the people here are a disciplined lot," I thought at the time.
But during my visit in the Christmas season of 2024, the rhetoric had shifted. A lawyer friend even told me, "Nabudol ta" (We were scammed).
It was "Impeachment Season" for Vice President Sara Duterte then, and several local lawyers were active in the process. And now, we have the Bondi Beach shooting.
Some vloggers have voiced "what ifs," wondering what might have happened if the shooting had coincided with the November 30 rallies. Some even expressed relief that the Iglesia ni Cristo cut their three-day rally short.
Then there was the observation that in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Acting Mayor Baste Duterte was nowhere to be found. Is he "hiding," much like a certain person named Bato?
It certainly does not help the city's image that the two gunmen stayed in a Davao hotel for nearly a month in November. It recalls the statement of Gen. Nicolas Torre, who claimed the city's crime picture was "sanitized"—that deaths by shooting were being reported as "natural causes," like cardiac arrest. The good general, notably, had been assigned there earlier in his career.
And now, the plot thickens further with reports concerning Ramil Madriaga. It is said that VP Sara visited him in prison at Camp Bagong Diwa, only for him to reportedly give her a cold reception—refusing to welcome or even speak to her. It didn't help that this "visit" was made at night.
The political plot is indeed thickening. The facade of the "safest city" seems to be cracking under the weight of international terror links and local political intrigue. Don't you agree?
Email: nora.lady@yahoo.com or contact 09073384874 | 09277983167
