DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 19 December) – Security forces are investigating whether the two gunmen behind the December 14 mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, had contacts in the city, according to Col. Mannan C. Muarip, acting director of the Davao City Police Office (DCPO).
“Yun subject na ini-imbestigahan na rin yun (That is also subject to investigation),” Muarip told reporters in an interview during the turnover ceremony of 32 new vehicles to the DCPO at the City Hall Grounds on Friday, when asked if the gunmen had contacts here.
Muarip, however, declined to provide details of the investigation, stating that all information about the two gunmen would be provided by the Police Regional Office (PRO)-Davao.
“Any information about it will be answered by the region (PRO-Davao). It’s all on the higher-ups na namin ang sasagot nun, nasa level na nila yun (It’s all up to the higher-ups. They will be the ones to answer that. It’s already at their level),” he said.
At 12:24 p.m. on Thursday, MindaNews asked Maj. Catherine dela Rey, PRO-Davao spokesperson, for an update on the investigation.
Dela Rey responded at 7:12 p.m. the same day, saying she would provide an update once a statement from PRO-Davao director Brig. Gen. Leon Victor Z. Rosete is available.
MindaNews followed up again on Friday morning, but Dela Rey said there was still no statement from the director.
On Tuesday, the Bureau of Immigration confirmed that the Bondi shooters, identified as Sajid Akram, 50, an Indian national, and his son, Naveed Akram, 24, an Indian-Australian, arrived in the country on Nov. 1 from Sydney. The two declared Davao as their final destination.
MindaNews confirmed on Wednesday that the Bondi Beach shooters were billeted at the GV Hotel along Magallanes St. from November 1 to 28, but remained mostly in their rooms during the period.
Muarip assured Dabawenyos that the city remains peaceful and that local security forces are doing all they can to ensure the safety of the place, particularly during the holiday season.
“As far as I’m concerned, we are secured here, and we are doing our best to secure further Davao City. Nakita nyo naman at any time of day and hour nasa labas tayo, hindi lang ako but kundi yung buong personnel ng DCPO (As you can see, at any time of day or night we are out there, not just me but the entire personnel of the DCPO),” he said.
Secretary Leo Tereso Magno, Mindanao Development Authority chairperson, said, in a statement on Thursday, that reports tagging Mindanao as a terror hotspot based on the travel history of the two Bondi shooters were “both misleading and unfair.”
He said Mindanao is “not a terror hotspot,” contrary to reports linking the island to the mass shooting in Sydney.
He said the island should not be judged by the actions of isolated individuals, especially when there is no evidence of “any planning, radicalization, or operational support for the attack in the region.”
The island’s security condition, Magno stated, is far “more stable, secure, and peaceful than it was decades ago.”
“Mindanao is not a terror hotspot. It is a region moving forward—focused on peace, progress, and inclusive development,” he said.
He said millions of tourists, business travelers, overseas workers, and foreign nationals enter the island every year for legitimate reasons, and that the mere presence of those responsible for the mass shooting in Sydney “does not equate to complicity.” (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)
