Senate probe into Tacloban school shooting set for 1 July

A Senate probe into the fatal school shooting in Tacloban on Monday will be launched on 1 July to ascertain whether the incident was related to increasing threats of radicalization targeting youth online.

The inquiry aims to determine whether online and gaming platforms could be held liable following reports that they are being weaponized by “groomers” to encourage children to be radically violent.

“[Online platforms] are becoming a breeding ground for groups that brainwash and radicalize children…Someone has to be held accountable,” Senator Risa Hontiveros argued.

The impending investigation would be the continuation of the 14 April hearing launched by the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality, chaired by Hontiveros.

During the hearing, authorities found that the recent spate of extremist activity in schools was traced to gaming platforms, like Roblox, Minecraft, Fortnite, Call of Duty, and Free Fire.

One of the glaring examples of extremist activities, according to the Philippine National Police-Anti-Cybercrime Group, was the mass shooting plot by a group of students in Calamba, Laguna, supposedly during their foundation week.

Police thwarted the plan in March after being notified by their foreign counterparts. Authorities said the intel helped them follow a digital trail and found that the suspect initially had gotten in touch with the minors through Roblox before shifting to private messaging on Facebook.

As a result, lawmakers and cybercrime authorities have pushed to mandate age verification and child safety standards across gaming platforms.

Hontiveros said they will follow up with concerned online and gaming platforms on whether there has been development on the proposals once the investigation resumes on 1 July.

The Police Regional Office Eastern Visayas reportedly said that one of the minor suspects of the 22 shooting incident at San Jose National School in Tacloban City was engaged in playing a “violent” online game, Gorebox.

The shooting incident took the lives of three students and wounded seven others. The alleged suspects, aged 14 and 15, are Grade 9 students at the school and are currently in police custody.