First Bali, now Davao

Welcome to Davao City, the most Livable City in the Philippines," reads a sign at the Davao International Airport. It's a bit of a stretch, given that Davao is the largest metropolis on Mindanao, the perennially troubled southern Philippine island. But in some ways Davao was indeed an oasis of peace in a troubled region. Tough-talking Mayor Rodrigo Duterte's official policy was that everyone was welcome in his cityeven Islamic separatists and communist rebelsas long as they didn't indulge in violence or mayhem. Anyone in Davao who stepped out of line was dealt with ruthlesslyand, for the past decade, Duterte's policy...

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