Senator Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday pushed back against circulating “fake news” alleging that she had recommended the outright ban of Gorebox and similar games.

She lamented that her office had been bombarded with complaints since the weekend, although it was the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center that temporarily banned the video game in question following the June 22 deadly shooting at a high school in Tacloban.

“I never recommended or said, or even thought about banning any game, including Gorebox,” Hontiveros said in a cable TV show interview. “So, don’t let fake news peddlers get ahead.”

The lawmaker questioned the logic behind the circulating claims, asserting that the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, which she chairs, will only start the probe on 1 July. Thus, the panel has not made any conclusions or findings yet.

Hontiveros has drawn backlash after announcing that she will tap the German Embassy in Manila to compel the attendance of the Germany-based Gorebox developer, Felix Filip, at the congressional probe.

The investigation aims to determine whether online and gaming platforms could be held liable for the alarming spate of school-based violence involving minors.

This follows a revelation by police during the panel’s last hearing in April that “groomers,” or extremists in Western countries, are exploiting the said platforms to recruit and encourage children to be radically violent.

Filip turned down the invitation, saying he will not participate in the proceedings, whether in person or virtually, as he has no business being involved in the probe.

He argued that Gorebox is classified as adult content for people ages 18 and above, making it unsuitable for minors.

The suspects in the Tacloban shooting are 14 and 15 years old, both enrolled at San Jose National High School, where the tragic incident occurred, killing at least three students and wounding 20 others.

Police pointed to Gorebox as a possible contributor to the fatal attack, saying one of the suspects is an avid player of the “violent” physics-based sandbox video game.

Hontiveros emphasized that although Filip claimed there are safeguards in place in Gorebox, his participation in the probe would have allowed for a more thorough discussion of these measures, given the gravity of reports targeting minors.

“We had a good precedent when we held an earlier hearing with Roblox. The bosses of Roblox even participated via Zoom. And following that hearing, they actually started to strengthen the existing safeguards within their game,” she argued.

Roblox has already been banned in several countries, including Russia, China, Turkey, Qatar, Egypt and Oman, due to child safety concerns.