Mindanao 2025 in Pictures

Mindanao in 2025 was your typical year — of a people enjoying and celebrating life, interrupted every now and then by violence and disasters. But somehow managing to stand up as usual and go on with life. The issues that plagued the country — like the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte and the corruption that plagued the Department of Public Works and Highways’ flood-control projects — were very much felt here, probably even more so. Regardless, we still continue with life.

Like their counterparts in Quiapo in Manila, devotees of the Black Nazarene in Cagayan de Oro City join the Traslación along Claro M. Recto Ave. on the way to the Nazarene parish church in Lapasan on January 9. MindaNews photo by FROILAN GALLARDO

Participants of the Iglesia ni Cristo-led “National Rally for Peace” in Davao City on January 13 — a show of support for Vice Prersident Sara Duterte who was facing impeachment — watch the live NET 25 broadcast shown on big TV screens. It turned out to be a showcase of talents, mostly song and dance presentation by the youth, and none from among the local members of the church spoke about the issues that precipitated the nationwide prayer rally. MindaNews photo by MANMAN DEJETO

Tales of Ranaw Tourism Hub, a museum-like venue inaugurated on January 23 in Marawi City, focuses on the 2017 siege utilizing both traditional and hi-tech ways of presenting it, the Meranaw people and its culture. Curator Marian Pastor Roces shows the gadur brassware cast from bullet casings collected from “Ground Zero” during the five-month siege in 2017. MindaNews photo by BOBBY TIMONERA

An airplane crashes in the farmlands of Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Sur, on February 6, killing all four foreigners on board. The Beech King Air 300 turned out to be contracted by the US Department of Defense to “provid[e] intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance support at the request of our Philippine allies,” according to the US Embassy’s Public Affairs Section. The US later compensated the owner of the farm, the farmer tilling the land, and the owner of the carabao that died after being hit by the plane. Photo from the Facebook page of Jho Upam

Manobo children on “kadang-kadang” (bamboo stilts) — rarely seen in this modern era — walk the streets of Quezon, Bukidnon on February 17 during the “Sunggod Teh Kamanga” festival in preparation for good harvest. MindaNews photo by FROILAN GALLARDO

Xavier University students in Cagayan de Oro City exhort motorists to honk their horns during commemoration of the 39th anniversary of the People Power Revolution on February 25. MindaNews photo by FROILAN GALLARDO

Former President Rodrigo Duterte, long-time mayor of Davao City, makes his first appearance before the International Criminal Court via video link from his detention center in The Hague, the Netherlands, on March 14, three days after he was arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport upon arrival from Hong Kong. He was arrested in connection with his alleged crimes against humanity in relation to his bloody war on drugs during his term as mayor, and later as president. ICC photo

After former President Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on March 11, and his detention since March 12 in The Hague, the Netherlands to face charges of crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court, protests all over Mindanao — like this one in Zamboanga City — erupted, urging the ICC to bring him back home. MindaNews photo by JULES L. BENITEZ

Dabawenyos commemorate Davao City’s 88th Charter Day on March 16 with a “Solidary Walk” during the annual Parada Dabawenyo. Thousands showed up in the streets to call on the International Criminal Court in The Hague to bring former President Rodrigo Duterte home. An even bigger crowd showed up in a protest march during Duterte’s birthday two weeks later. MindaNews photo by MANMAN DEJETO

The opening of the KCC Mall of Cotabato on April 2, right in the seat of government of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), is a significant milestone for the economic growth and investment climate of the Bangsamoro region. For the Bangsamoro government, it reflects “the trust of big investors in the region’s security and economic stability.” Photo from KCC’s Facebook page

Philippine Marines train with their US counterparts during the Joint Marine Exercise 2025 (MAREX 2025) in Barangay Penansaran, Datu Blah Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte on April 9. MindaNews photo by FERDINANDH CABRERA

Camiguin continues to draw in tourists as shown in this photo taken at the White Island, the province’s favorite spot, on April 12, just before the start of Holy Week. MindaNews photo by BOBBY TIMONERA

Army soldiers arrest supporters of opposing candidates involved in a fight in front of the Pualas National High School in Lanao del Sur, a perennial poll hot spot, on election day (May 12). MindaNews photo by FROILAN GALLARDO

Political dynasty reigns in Davao City as third-generation Duterte, Rodrigo “Rigo” Duterte II — grandson of former President Rodrigo and son of Rep. Paolo — easily wins a seat in the city council representing the first district. As the number one councilor, he served as acting Vice Mayor from June 30, 2025 and as of November 13, as Vice Mayor, after his grandfather Rodrigo’s mayoral seat, was deemed vacated for failing to take his oath of office within six months from his proclamation on May 13. Vice Mayor Sebastian Duterte succeeds as Mayor and Rigo succeeds Sebastian as Vice Mayor. MindaNews photo by IAN CARL ESPINOSA

Women sort Robusta coffee beans at a cooperative processing center in Barangay Pigtauranan, Pangantucan, Bukidnon on June 16. Most of the beans come from Menuvu farmers in Pangantucan, which has become popular in the specialty coffee industry as its farmers have been winning contests the past few years. MindaNews photo by H. MARCOS C. MORDENO

MindaNews editor-in-chief Bobby Timonera receives the Philippine Press Institute’s Best News Website for Mindanao Award during the 2024 Community Press Awards on June 27. PPI said “MindaNews captures Mindanao’s heart and soul …. [It] carries news that matter and presents them in a manner that gives readers insights to the diverse culture of Mindanaons.” Photo courtesy of Rey Garcia / The Mindanao Observer

Police and Marine troopers start implementation of the gun ban in Cotabato City on August 14 in preparation for the first Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections on October 13. The election did not push through as the Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional the two districting laws that the Bangsamoro Transition Authority passed. MindaNews photo by FERDINANDH CABRERA

As Davao City celebrates Kadayawan Festival, heavy rains ruin the party as some of the city’s major streets get flooded on August 19, among them J.P. Laurel Avenue in Bajada. Photo courtesy of FRANCES LOZANO

Du’mBalig Food Bazaar (the word is derived from the Tandaganon expression ‘Dum na Baligya’ which roughly means ‘night market’), opened on September 4 and ended on September 10 at the Vicente L. Pimentel Sr. Boulevard in Tandag City, the capital of Surigao del Sur, as part of the 13th Sangkaan Festival and Tandag’s 416th founding anniversary (the Spanish government sent missionaries to the area in 1609). MindaNews photo by QUEENIE CASIO

Students of Mindanao State University–General Santos walk out of their classes on September 20, a day before the 53rd anniversary of the declaration of martial law, to join the city-wide “White Friday” protest against corruption. Similar events were held in many parts of the country, condemning the anomalies in flood control projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways. MindaNews photo by GUIA REBOLLIDO

Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon leads inspection of an alleged ghost flood-control project in the municipality of Jose Abad Santos, Davao Occidental, on September 25. During inspection, it was found that the project remained unfinished “despite (its) having been declared completed and the full payment having been made to St. Timothy Construction Company,” one of the many construction firms owned by government contractor Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya II and his wife Sarah. DPWH photo

The provincial government of Davao Oriental threatens to stop ongoing nickel mining operations in Barangay Macambol in the City of Mati in early October. MindaNews wrote extensively about the Pujada Nickel Project the following month, as the mining operations threaten both the Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary — the only World Heritage site in Mindanao — and the Pujada Bay Protected Seascape and Landscape downstream. Photo courtesy of Davao Oriental LGU

Aside from Davao Oriental, Surigao del Sur has long been affected by mining, too. This view of the barren mountain in an open-pit nickel mining site in the municipality of Carrascal was photographed from the bay walk in the town center on October 8. MindaNews photo by IVY MARIE MANGADLAO

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake off the coast of Davao Oriental on October 10 destroys a portion of the Manay District Hospital. The hospital has been declared unsafe and a medical tent has been set up in front of it to attend to the needs of patients. Another quake, recorded at magnitude 6.9, followed in the evening. MindaNews photo by GREGORIO C. BUENO

A portion of the zigzag road in Barangay Palacapao, Quezon town in Bukidnon collapses on October 18 due to a landslide following heavy rains. A couple passing the road on board their “bao-bao” vehicle was buried by the slide. The Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DEPDev) in Region 10 estimates losses at this highway linking the northern and southern parts of Mindanao at ₱187 million a day or ₱14 billion as of yearend 2025. MindaNews photo by BOBBY TIMONERA

The caskets containing the remains of six crew members of a Philippine Air Force Huey helicopter that crashed on November 4 in Loreto, Agusan del Sur while on a humanitarian mission to deliver aid to areas affected by Typhoon Tino, are loaded into the aircraft that will bring them home. The remains of the crew were recovered shortly after and were given departure honors at the Tactical Operations Wing Eastern Mindanao in Davao City for their flight to their respective homes two days after the crash. MindaNews photo by MANMAN DEJETO

The overpass at Central Mindanao University in Musuan, Maramag, Bukidnon is designed to give easy access to persons with disabilities. MindaNews photo taken December 14 by BOBBY TIMONERA

Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia may be thousands of miles away, but the mass shooting there that killed 15 people put Mindanao in the spotlight when Australian authorities claimed that the shooters were trained by terrorists in Mindanao. The Bureau of Immigration confirmed that the shooters — the father-and-son Sajid and Naveed Akram — visited the Philippines in November, with Davao City as their destination. MindaNews photojournalist Manman Dejeto chanced a group of policemen and their vehicles outside the GV Hotel along Magallanes St. on December 17, interviewed hotel personnel, and broke the news that father and son stayed mostly in their rooms from November 1 to 28, going out only for meals, which contradicts the claim that the two came for military-style training. MindaNews photo by MANMAN DEJETO

Dabawenyos mark the end of an era with the closure of Victoria Plaza, Davao City’s first mall, which opened in 1993. For many locals, especially among millennials, it was the place where they grew up, enjoying its rides, restos, movie houses, tambayan areas, and a lot more. On December 31, the last day of its operations, many came to take their selfies. MindaNews photo by MANMAN DEJETO