quality:corruption, information:classification
Social unrest, martial law, and the 1980s

By the late 1960s, Davao had become the regional capital of southern Mindanao; with the reorganization, it became the regional capital of the Davao Region (Region XI) and a highly urbanized city in the province of Davao del Sur.

Things began to take a turn for the worse late into Ferdinand Marcos ' first presidential term, when news about the Jabidah massacre ignited a furor in the Moro community, and ethnic tensions encouraged with the formation of secessionist movements. An economic crisis in late 1969 led to social unrest, and violent crackdowns on protests led to the radicalization of many students throughout the country. With no way to express their grievances about government abuses after the declaration of Martial law in 1972, many of them joined the New People's Army (NPA), bringing the Communist rebellion in the Philippines to Davao and the rest of Mindanao for the first time. The movement would continue to grow over the next decade, but was continuing to struggle by the early 1980s, convincing prominent party thinker and idealogue Edgar Jopson to be based there, until he was killed after a raid in Skyline Subdivision in September 1982.

The years immediately after Jopson's death saw an unmanageable increase in the Communist Party's ranks, however. The 1983 Philippine economic nosedive and the Assassination of Ninoy Aquino a few months later saw the New People's Army grow to seven fronts (Battalion sized units), which coincided with a decision to experiment with strategies like urban insurrectionism. Severe violence began with assassinations of corrupt officials and policemen, but Mid-1984 and August 1985 saw 16 journalists killed where only six had been killed in the decade between 1975 and 1984. Agdao, the poor Barangay from which of the NPA got much of its support, began to be known as "Nicaragdao." Foreign press began labelling Davao the Philippines' "Murder Capital" and "Killing Fields," while the NPA's experiments with urban insurrectionism led all of Mindanao to be labeled "the laboratory of the revolution." In order to keep its large number of cadres supplied, the NPA depended heavily on local citizens for supplies, increasing the incidences of abusive behavior, and reducing support for their cause.

In 1984, rightwing vigilantes with the support of Philippine Constabulary Davao City Metropolitan Command commander Lt. Colonel Franco Calida, formed the armed group "Alsa Masa" (People's Rise) to counter them. Their presence, coinciding infighting within the NPA triggered by a hunt for deep penetration agents, was perceived as reducing NPA presence in Davao, but at the cost of the Alsa Masa itself committing human rights violations.

Most Davao residents remained staunchly against violence from either extreme. Early examples had included the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Davao Antonio L. Mabutas, who was among the first religious leaders to peacefully speak out against the Human rights abuses of the Marcos dictatorship. However, these peaceful citizens lacked the political clout to influence the situation much before 1983. One stabilizing element was the designation of then-Colonel Rodolfo Biazon as commander of the 3rd Marine Brigade assigned to Davao. In what the international press dubbed "the most sophisticated approach" to addressing the insurgency, Biazon eschewed the aggressive stance preferred by the Philippine Constabulary and instead focused on outreach and community engagement - visiting schools and communities, and assuring the public that any Marine would be disciplined for any abuses committed.

Ordinary citizens began to have more of a voice for change after the economic crisis of 1983, the assassination of Ninoy Aquino, and the murder of prominent Davao City journalist Alex Orcullo at a checkpoint in Barangay Tigatto on October 19, 1984. These seminal events prompted prominent city figures like Soledad Duterte to organize a protest group called the "Yellow Friday Movement", which slowly gained support until 1986, when Marcos was finally ousted and forced into exile.

From various sectors such as the academe, there were other ordinary Davaoeños are honored at the Philippines' Bantayog ng mga Bayani, which honors the martyrs and heroes which fought for democracy against the authoritarian regime. This included Atty Larry Ilagan, an alumni of the Ateneo de Davao Law School who became a prominent Human Rights Lawyer with the Free Legal Assistance Group; Economics Professor and Union Organizer Eduardo Lanzona, who was arrested in Davao Del Norte and eventually killed by Marcos' forces in 1975; Activist Maria Socorro Par who pushed for the restoration of the student council and school paper Atenews in the mid70s after they had been shut down in Martial Law, and Atenews Editor in Chief Evella Bontia; Law School alumnus Nicolas Solana Jr., and ADDU High School alumni Ricky Filio and Joel Jose.