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That was the most frightening moment of his life. Back in September 2016, Gerry Pendon was only five metres away from a detonation at the night market in Roxas in Davao City. The Islamic State attack killed 15, including his wife's brother. A five-month battle between the army and the jihadist group in Marawi came after.

“It cannot take place again in Davao,” Pendon asserts.

Nearly a decade later, the threat of IS again looms over one of the Philippines’ largest cities, during international scrutiny over the month-long stay in the city of the suspected Bondi beach shooters, Sajid Akram and his son Naveed.

Pendon, who is a a massage technician at the night market, learned of Bondi on the television, but as with other locals surveyed, felt mostly detached.

The 2016 blast is a bad memory he is attempting to put behind him. A remembrance marker for the 2016 deaths sits in a section of the night market, seeming incongruous against the joyful atmosphere as crowds came there for meals, massages and souvenirs.

Ongoing Inquiries Amid Festive Cheer

Examinations of the time in the Philippines of the duo comes as the mostly Catholic nation is gearing up for Christmas. Davao’s municipal hall has been lit up by a tall Christmas tree, malls are busy, and children knock on doors to perform Christmas songs.

“It surprised me 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 investigation into their actions is active and the precise reason for their visit is still unknown.

“It is just regrettable that real concerns are exploited by radicalism. Unfortunately, the narrative of savage attacks was wrongly attached to the region's identity,” noted Karlos Manlupig, executive director of advocacy group Balay Mindanao.

Faith in Safety Legacy

Lorenzo is furthermore confident that no one could carry out another terror attack in the city for a long time ruled by the political machine of past leader Rodrigo Duterte, whose legacy – both renowned and notorious – was built on aggressively securitising Davao through hardline law and order and drug war campaigns. At one entrance of the night market, at least four personnel stand checking bags.

The national government has pushed back against suggestions that it was a base for militant training for the suspected Bondi shooters. The country has a extensive past of conflict and marginalization that has seen some Muslim separatist groups form alliances with global terrorist networks. But while IS-linked groups persist, authorities say they are limited in size and degraded.

Police Reconstruct Movements

What is evident, stated Eduardo Año, the Philippines’ national security adviser, 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 father and son's stay in the country as they reconstruct the activities of the pair during their four-week stay in Davao City.

Investigators say there are numerous locations the two could have gone to or had meetings in the vicinity. Scores of outlets sit between the GV Hotel and a nearby Jollibee, where they were reported to buy their meals.

Officers are analyzing security camera video and tracing cab rides to establish their whereabouts, and that any potential lead are being entertained.

Fears in Marawi City Over Stigma

In Marawi, the site of a major conflict with extremist groups in 2017, residents are worried that fresh associations with terrorism could lead to heightened securitisation and deepen bias against Muslims.

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

“[The Akrams’] visit should be properly investigated and the information should provide clear and truthful answers without turning uncertainty into accusations against its people or its people,” Andullah said.

Manlupig lauded civic actions in strengthening the safety conditions in Davao City but he said “this doesn’t mean that radicalism was eradicated”. He said the country must confront root causes and political factors that drive the reasons behind the violence while “continue pushing for tolerance and steer clear of discrimination and polarization”.