PNP Readies Teams for 2-Day Sisit of Japanese Prime Minister in Davao

The Philippine National Police (PNP) is now ready with the police teams to secure the two-day visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Davao City on Friday.

The Davao City Police Office (DCPO) will deploy police officers in all routes of the Japanese leader including the village of Mintal in the third district.

DCPO Director Michael John Dubria told reporters during the AFP-PNP press corps on Wednesday that DCPO police teams will provide the necessary security assistance to the Presidential Security Group (PSG), which is on top of Mr. Abe’s visit to the city.

The Japanese prime minister marks his official Philippine visit in Manila on Thursday and Davao on Friday to reciprocate the visit of President Rodrigo Duterte in Japan last October 2016.

President Duterte was invited by PM Abe when the two met in Laos in September 2016 on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit.

Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella had confirmed Mr. Abe’s arrival on Thursday. The President will also host a state dinner for the Japanese leader in Malacañan. It was also Mr. Abe’s desire to visit Mr. Duterte’s hometown.

“They have struck a resonant chord between the two of them and apparently, Prime Minister Abe wants to visit the President’s house,” Abella had told reporters in Malacañang during a press briefing on Tuesday.

Abe will also meet business leaders in Davao.

Tracing history

One of the significant places that Mr. Abe will be visiting is Mintal, which is Davao City’s known “Little Tokyo” where many Japanese settled in pre-war years.

A portion of Mintal, which is a Japanese heritage site, will be undergoing development under a proposed masterplan being undertaken by Berkman International Inc., a consulting firm. A blueprint for the development received a P120-million budget from the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA).

A workshop was conducted last year to gather stories about the village from families who lived in the area before, during, and after the Japanese occupation. It was also aimed to trace back history, and identify landmarks that have heritage importance.

The village has proposed the “revival and rehabilitation of its rich historical resources being declared as Japanese Heritage Area in 2009.”

The rebuilding of Davao’s “Little Tokyo” is expected to bolster the tourism industry in Mintal and the whole of Davao City as well. It was initially eyed as part of the tourism circuit and to attract more Japanese tourists or Davao’s Japanese descendants who annually come for a pilgrimage every September 1 dubbed as the “Sentimental Journey”.

The rebuilding of the heritage Mintal could take time because of many settlers. Mintal market used to be the site of a Japanese hospital and base, and an old artesian well (poso).

The Japanese monument within a school ground, which time and again was targeted by treasure hunters and the old cemetery also need rehabilitation. An old house of the Dacudao family that used to be a hospital, is also eyed as part of the heritage tour.

The village leader of Mintal has been initiating talks on the rebuilding plan with the help of the Japanese Chamber and the Japan Development Council in Davao.

A study by Mintal’s 76 Ayson & Campado Banwa states that Mintal was the focal point of pre-war economic activities of the Japanese to which Davao City attributes its pre-war economic preeminence, earning for it the monicker “Davaokuo” and for Mintal, “The Little Tokyo of the Philippines.”

Mintal is a 600-hectare agricultural land. It used to be a Japanese settlement. According to historians, the Japanese opted to engage in abaca business rather than fighting during the pre-war days. The early Japanese migrants referred to it as Mintaro, thus the name Mintal. It was once the occupied by Japanese engaging in the abaca plantation.

The familiar landmarks of Mintal are the Ohta Monument, a monolith in honor of Ohta Kyosaburo, considered by local historians as the “Father of Davao development.” Other markers and obelisks of Japanese nationals who died as barangay residents during the war can be seen in and around Mintal, Toril and Calinan. (PNA)LAP/LCM/LDP