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That was the scariest time of his existence. In the fall of 2016, Gerry Pendon was just five meters away from a detonation at the Roxas night market in Davao City. The ISIS assault left 15 dead, including his brother-in-law. A prolonged conflict between the armed forces and the extremist group in the city of Marawi came after.

“It cannot occur again in Davao,” Pendon says.

Nine years later, the threat of IS reappears over one of the country's largest cities, during worldwide focus over the four-week stay in the city of the alleged Bondi attackers, Sajid Akram and his son Naveed.

Pendon, who makes a living as a masseur at the night market, learned of the attack on the media, but similar to other locals surveyed, felt mostly disconnected.

The 2016 attack is a painful recollection he is attempting to put behind him. A remembrance marker for the 2016 fatalities is placed in a part of the night market, looking mismatched amid the festive atmosphere as crowds gathered there for meals, massages and goods.

Ongoing Investigations Amid Holiday Preparations

Investigations into the time in the Philippines of the father and son is happening while the predominantly Catholic country is preparing for Christmas. Davao’s city hall has been lit up by a tall Christmas tree, shopping centers are busy, and children go door-to-door to perform Christmas songs.

“I was taken aback to see [the Akrams] in the news. But they were here for sightseeing, not terrorism,” says Emelyn Lorenzo, another a massage therapist at the market. Authorities have made clear the probe into their whereabouts is active and the precise reason for their trip is remains uncertain.

“It is just regrettable that valid issues are hijacked by extremism. Unfortunately, the narrative of extreme conflict was incorrectly tied to the region's identity,” noted Karlos Manlupig, executive director of non-governmental organization Balay Mindanao.

Trust in Security Legacy

Lorenzo is additionally certain that nobody could carry out another act of terror in the city historically ruled by the clan of past leader Rodrigo Duterte, whose name – both renowned and controversial – was forged through aggressively securitising Davao through strict anti-crime and drug war campaigns. At one entrance of the night market, at minimum four officers stand inspecting bags.

The Philippine government has denied claims that it was a base for militant training for the accused Bondi shooters. The country has a extensive past of instability and marginalization that has seen some Muslim separatist groups forge ties with international jihadist groups. But while IS-linked groups still exist, security officials say they are limited in size and degraded.

Investigators Trace Activities

What is clear, stated Eduardo Año, the Philippines’ top security official, is the two did not leave the city nor received weapons training in the country, as was earlier claimed.

Investigators have said they are “not taking lightly” the father and son's presence in the country as they reconstruct the movements of the pair during their month-long stay in Davao City.

Investigators say there are many locations the two could have visited or connected with associates in the neighborhood. Scores of businesses sit between the hotel where they stayed and a close by popular fast food chain, where they were understood to buy their food.

Officers are reviewing CCTV footage and tracing transport records to establish their itinerary, and that all possibilities are being considered.

Worries in Marawi Over Labels

In Marawi, the site of a major conflict with extremist groups in 2017, locals are anxious that fresh terrorist labels could lead to tighter restrictions and increase prejudice against Muslims.

Tirmizy Abdullah, a professor at the university in Marawi City, said the Philippine security agencies must determine what happened.

“[The Akrams’] stay should be thoroughly examined and the intel should provide clear and truthful answers without transforming doubt into blame against the region or its people,” Andullah said.

Manlupig lauded community efforts in strengthening the security situation in Davao City but he said “it is not true that radicalism magically vanished”. He said the country must confront economic and social issues and governance challenges that drive the reasons behind the conflict while “keep advocating for tolerance and avoid discrimination and sectarianism”.