DAVAO CITY – The city government marked on September 1, Friday, the seventh anniversary of the Roxas Night Market bombing on Roxas Ave. here in 2016.
Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte led the commemoration for the victims and their families and survivors.
Fifteen persons were killed and 17 were injured in the devastating incident on September 2, 2016, more than a month into the term of his father, then President Rodrigo R. Duterte.
Duterte, who led a candle-lighting ceremony and offered flowers at the Roxas Memorial Marker, said that the incident remains a poignant reminder that challenges to safety and security persist.
“No one can compensate for the sadness brought about by the incident. I want every family here to know that the government is here with you, we will be with you in your grief,” Duterte said in the vernacular.
Duterte also said that the incident will remind everyone, especially the security cluster, in Davao City to “remain vigilant at all times.”
He thanked the Davao City Police Office (DCPO), Task Force Davao (TFD), and the rest of the security cluster here for their efforts in keeping the city safe from terrorism.
He assured the people that the city government is doing its best to prevent such a tragic incident from happening again.
Duterte also guaranteed that financial and educational support from the local government would continue for survivors and the bereaved family members.
Seven persons implicated in the tragic explosion have been convicted of multiple counts of murder and attempted murder. They were sentenced to reclusion perpetua or life in jail.
The verdict was handed down on September 28, 2020 by Judge Marivic Vitor of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 266 in Taguig City.
The court found the suspects guilty beyond reasonable doubt for the complex crimes of multiple murders and multiple attempted murders under Article 248 (3) with Article 48 and Article 6 (3), all under the Revised Penal Code with Republic Act 8368 or the Anti-Squatting Law Repeal Act of 1997.
A copy of the verdict was posted online by the city government attached with the statement of then acting Mayor Sebastian Duterte welcoming the court ruling.