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It was the most frightening experience of his existence. In 2016, Gerry Pendon was only five metres away from a detonation at the Roxas night market in Davao City. The Islamic State assault claimed 15 lives, including his wife's brother. A prolonged battle between the armed forces and the militant group in Marawi followed.

“It won’t occur again in Davao,” Pendon asserts.

Nine years later, the shadow of IS again looms over one of the country's key cities, during international scrutiny over the 28-day stay in the city of the accused Bondi attackers, Sajid Akram and his son Naveed.

Pendon, who makes a living as a massage therapist at the night market, heard about the Bondi incident on the media, but like other locals spoken to, felt mostly detached.

The 2016 attack is a traumatic event he is working to forget. A remembrance marker for the 2016 deaths sits in a section of the night market, seeming mismatched against the festive environment as hundreds came there for meals, massages and souvenirs.

Current Probes Amid Christmas Cheer

Investigations into the time in the Philippines of the father and son coincides with the mostly Catholic country is preparing for Christmas. Davao’s city hall has been adorned with a towering Christmas tree, shopping centers are crowded, and children knock on doors 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. Officials have made clear the probe into their whereabouts is active and the precise reason for their visit is as yet uncertain.

“It is just regrettable that legitimate grievances are exploited by radicalism. Unfortunately, the story of brutal violence was wrongly attached to Mindanao’s identity,” said Karlos Manlupig, executive director of peace-building NGO Balay Mindanao.

Confidence in Security Legacy

Lorenzo is additionally assured that nobody could perpetrate another terrorist strike in the city long ruled by the clan of former president Rodrigo Duterte, whose legacy – both notable and controversial – was forged through aggressively securitising Davao through tough law and order and drug war policies. At an entrance of the night market, at least four officers stand checking bags.

The national government has denied allegations that it was a base for militant training for the accused Bondi shooters. The country has a long history of instability and marginalization that has seen some Islamic independence movements form alliances with global terrorist networks. But while IS-linked groups remain present, experts say they are small and degraded.

Authorities Reconstruct Movements

What is certain, stated Eduardo Año, the Philippines’ top security official, is the two stayed within the city nor received military-style training in the country, as was initially suggested.

Investigators have said they are “treating with gravity” the pair’s visit in the country as they piece together the movements of the father and son during their four-week stay in Davao City.

Investigators say there are numerous places the two could have gone to or met contacts in the vicinity. Scores of outlets sit between the GV Hotel and a close by Jollibee, where they were understood to buy their meals.

Officers are examining surveillance tapes and following taxi trips to reconstruct their movements, and that every scenario are being explored.

Worries in Marawi Over Labels

In Marawi, the site of a major conflict with Islamic State affiliates in 2017, locals are anxious that renewed terrorist labels could lead to heightened securitisation and deepen bias against Muslims.

Tirmizy Abdullah, a academic at the Mindanao State University in Marawi City, said the Philippine security agencies must establish what happened.

“[The Akrams’] visit should be thoroughly examined and the intel should provide accurate and honest answers without transforming doubt into finger-pointing against the region or its people,” Abdullah said.

Manlupig lauded civic actions in enhancing the peace and order in Davao City but he said “that does not imply that terrorism simply disappeared”. He said the country must tackle root causes and governance challenges that fuel the impulses behind the conflict while “persist in promoting understanding and prevent bias and division”.