On the last day of December 2025, Davao City saw the last of Victoria Plaza (Victo as coined it), its first ever shopping mall that rose long before the national brands started building in our once quaint town. We used to think that everywhere in Davao was only 15 minutes away. It really seemed like it. My family resided in Lanang and it was only 15 minutes away from the mall.
It was in Victo that I saw a proper skating rink and was nervous and envious at once with those who were on a roll and seemed to be having the time of their lives as they were playing on the rink with countless others. And even though decades have gone, I can still remember back when I was nine, I hated their movie house after I screamed my heart out for two hours when I watched Jurassic Park with my siblings in the mall’s movie theatre.
Over time, Victo became like a commonplace where I’d go on a coffee date at Dunkin’ Donuts or scour for stationeries and Pilot pens at Pen Haus. It was also at Boulangerie where we would buy cake for birthdays and special occasions, including my eldest child’s first birthday cake!
I could never forget the day when I was 19, when my late Japanese friend Ichi called to introduce me to a drop-dead gorgeous Japanese guy my age over lunch at Akiko Restaurant, just beside Ahfat at Victoria Plaza compound. I would have dated that guy if I had been single and he wasn’t engaged! I remember thinking to myself about Ichi, Ka-cholokoy na lang gyud! Kaslonon man diay ni, ngano’ng gipa-meet pa man ko niya ani!
Three months after I came home from Dubai, news about Victoria Plaza building’s permanent closure came. Fond memories about the place came flooding back all at once. I was glad that I saw it for the last time. On its last remaining days of operation, I chose not to visit the mall. I decided that it should stay in my heart the way that it held countless memories of childhood and youth - vibrant and fun, homey and quaint, yet new.
How about you? If you’re from Davao or have visited the place, what fond memories do you have about Victoria Plaza?