DAVAO CITY — City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte led the survivors, the families and relatives of the fatalities in remembering the gruesome Davao City Airport bombing which happened 20 years ago.
The commemoration started with a mass at the site which was followed by floral offering which was led Duterte along with the families and a candle lighting was also offered at the crime scene.
The city government offered scholarship to the children of the bereaved families, of whom fourteen (14) have graduated from college degrees.
The bombing which killed 21 people and wounded 155 individuals happened on March 2, at around 5:20 p.m. at the main terminal of the then location Francisco Bangoy International Airport in Barangay Sasa.
The terrorists left an improvised explosive device (IED) under the steel chairs at the waiting area just infront of the terminal building.
Among the fatalities was an American missionary from Iowa but her two children survived .
A leader of the Al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Philippines government rejected the claim and instead point the blame to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
The Government and the MILF signed a peace agreement in 2014, with Government chief negotiator Miriam Coronel Ferrer and MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal, as the main signatories of the pact in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on behalf of the government and the MILF, respectively.-Newsline
