DAVAO CITY – Nineteen years after the deadly blast at the old airport terminal in this city, pain still lingers in the mind and hearts of the victims of the tragic incident.
Siblings Armand and Princess Formentera admitted that they still long for their father, a former professional boxing champion who was then working as a porter at the airport when he was killed in the March 4, 2003 bombing.
Twenty-two persons were killed, and more than 100 others wounded in the blast that was suspected to have been carried out by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
“It's not easy growing up without father, It is really hard but it has to be us who should let ourselves to just move forward,” said Armand, now 25 years old.
His sister, Princess also recalled that she was just seven years old when the bombing happened.
Their father, Arman Picar was among the 22 persons who perished in the bombing.
In the 1990s, Picar held several titles in the Philippines as well as a title in the Orient Pacific Boxing Federation.
“After 19 years since the bombing at the airport, we could still feel the pain of growing up without a father,” she recalled.
Now 26 years old, Princess lamented that this pandemic has stalled her plans of seeking a job abroad.
The bomb exploded around 5pm on March 4, 2003 at the crowded waiting shed, some 10 meters away from the main entrance of the terminal.
Among those who survived was Restituto Amparado, who was then a driver of car rental at the airport.
Amparado’s right leg was amputated due to severe injuries sustained from the blast.
“I didn’t know that I was hit even though I was just about few meters away from the blast site. Until I notice that there was already blood in my legs. It was so loud, it’s still feels so fresh in my memory,” he recalled in an interview with reporters on Friday.
Amparado added that they were grateful for the assistance of the city government, as all children of the blast victims were granted full scholarships from elementary to college.
Now 63 years old, the former van driver is now working at the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO).
Like Amparado, Formentera is also grateful for the scholarship grant of the local government as she and her three brothers were able to finish college.
“Life was so difficult after our father died because he was our only breadwinner,” she wrote in a message sent to Manila Bulletin.
On Friday, some survivors and members of those who perished in the blast gathered for a short commemoration at the blast site.
Vice Mayor Sebastian Duterte joined them in a short prayer and offered candles and flowers right at the small crate
“We are one with the families of the victims and survivors in praying for continued healing and peace for everyone. We will continue to remember and honor the lives we sadly lost 19 years ago and carry on with the lessons we learned from the incident,” Duterte said shortly before the blessing at the blast site.
“As we commemorate the bombing incident, we, the family of the victims, are hoping that terrorism will be gone so no more family or children will get pained the same way we felt since the day that the bombing had occurred,” Armand concluded.