PNP, CICC to monitor violent online games after Tacloban shooting

The Philippine National Police (PNP) will coordinate with the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) and other stakeholders to intensify monitoring of violent online games and digital platforms that may expose minors to harmful behavior and safety risks.

PNP chief P/Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. announced the move on Wednesday as authorities continue investigating the fatal shooting at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City, which left three students dead and 20 others injured.

Police are examining a possible connection between the open-world sandbox game GoreBox and one of the minor suspects involved in the shooting.

The initiative forms part of efforts to strengthen child protection online, enhance cyber monitoring and prevent digital platforms from being used to influence or harm minors.

“As law enforcers, we also have the obligation to initiate measures that will protect all our kababayan, particularly minors, from the harmful effects of exposure to online violence. And this is what we intend to do on this matter,” Nartatez said.

He said the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group will lead coordination efforts with the CICC, other government agencies and relevant stakeholders.

According to police records, GoreBox has already been flagged by concerned authorities and is currently under review following reports that one of the suspects frequently played the game.

Nartatez said the PNP will also examine existing studies and research on the possible effects of exposure to violent online content on the behavior of minors in schools and communities.

He emphasized the importance of consulting experts from the academe, advocacy groups and research institutions.

“Advocacy groups and other stakeholders usually possess a plethora of research and study results on this particular subject matter—and they fully know what they are talking about,” Nartatez said.

“On the part of the PNP, we want to sit down with them to come up with the proper and best measures on how to deal with the children on the issue of their exposure to violent games and other online games,” he added.

The PNP chief earlier called on parents, guardians and teachers to closely monitor children's social media activity and online gaming habits following revelations that one of the suspects was an avid GoreBox player.

Authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the Tacloban school shooting while exploring measures aimed at preventing similar incidents in the future.