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It was the most terrifying experience of his life. Back in September 2016, Gerry Pendon was a mere five metres away from a bomb explosion at the Roxas evening bazaar in Davao City. The Islamic State strike left 15 dead, including his wife's brother. A lengthy siege between the armed forces and the extremist group in Marawi City followed.

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

Nearly a decade later, the specter of IS once more hangs over one of the country's key cities, amid international scrutiny over the month-long stay in the city of the suspected Bondi beach shooters, a father and son, Sajid and Naveed Akram.

Pendon, who makes a living as a massage technician at the night market, heard about the Bondi incident on the media, but like other citizens interviewed, felt mostly disconnected.

The 2016 blast is a traumatic event he is working to forget. A remembrance marker for the 2016 fatalities sits in a part of the night market, seeming incongruous amid the festive atmosphere as hundreds came there for meals, massages and trinkets.

Active Inquiries Amid Holiday Cheer

Investigations into the Philippines activities of the father and son comes as the overwhelmingly Catholic country is gearing up for Christmas. Davao’s municipal hall has been decorated with a tall Christmas tree, malls are crowded, and children knock on doors to sing carols.

“I was taken aback to see [the Akrams] in the news. But they were here for sightseeing, not extremism,” says Emelyn Lorenzo, also a massage therapist at the market. Officials have made clear the inquiry into their whereabouts is continuing and the exact reason for their stay is remains unclear.

“It is simply regrettable that real concerns are hijacked by terrorism. Regrettably, the reputation of extreme conflict was unfairly glued to Mindanao’s image,” stated Karlos Manlupig, head of advocacy group Balay Mindanao.

Faith in Safety History

Lorenzo is also assured that nobody could perpetrate another terrorist strike in the city for a long time administered by the clan of past leader Rodrigo Duterte, whose reputation – both famous and infamous – was established by tightly securing Davao through strict anti-crime and drug war initiatives. At an entrance of the night market, at minimum four guards stand checking bags.

The national government has pushed back against suggestions that it was a base for militant training for the alleged Bondi shooters. The country has a complicated background of conflict and marginalization that has seen some Muslim separatist groups forge ties with international jihadist groups. But while IS-linked groups still exist, experts say they are limited in size and degraded.

Police Reconstruct Movements

What is clear, said Eduardo Año, the Philippines’ national security adviser, is the two never left the city nor obtained weapons training in the country, as was earlier claimed.

Law enforcement have said they are “taking seriously” the pair’s visit in the country as they piece together the activities of the pair during their month-long stay in Davao City.

Police say there are numerous locations the two could have gone to or met contacts in the neighborhood. Scores of businesses sit between the their accommodation and a local Jollibee, where they were reported to buy their meals.

Detectives are examining CCTV footage and tracing transport records to reconstruct their movements, and that every scenario are being entertained.

Concerns in the Region Over Bias

In Marawi, the site of a major conflict with extremist groups in 2017, locals are worried that fresh terrorist labels could lead to heightened securitisation and increase discrimination against Muslims.

Tirmizy Abdullah, a faculty member at the university in Marawi City, said the Philippine investigative bodies must find out what transpired.

“[The Akrams’] visit should be properly investigated and the intel should provide transparent and factual answers without converting questions into finger-pointing against the region or its people,” Abdullah said.

Manlupig praised local initiatives in strengthening the security situation in Davao City but he said “that does not imply that radicalism magically vanished”. He said the country must confront economic and social issues and political factors that fuel the impulses behind the violence while “keep advocating for acceptance and steer clear of discrimination and polarization”.