Efforts to ban children from social media gained momentum in the Senate on Wednesday, a day after a fatal shooting at Ateneo de Zamboanga University (ADZU) that left two students dead, including the minor suspect.

Several senators backed the urgent consideration and passage of Senate Bill 2066, authored by Senate President Win Gatchalian, which seeks to prohibit children aged 16 and below from maintaining social media accounts.

Similar measures were filed in the Senate earlier this year but remain pending at the committee level.

Child rights group Save the Children Philippines has opposed a blanket social media ban, saying it could restrict children’s rights to information and learning under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The group instead advocates for safer online spaces.

Senator Robin Padilla, however, said the growing number of school shootings involving minors constitutes a “clear and present danger” warranting urgent legislative action.

During his manifestation Wednesday, Padilla said the proposed ban would prevent young people from accessing online games and websites that promote graphic, violent, and distressing crime-related content, including the True Crime Community (TCC).

The TCC is a digital subculture centered on an interest in real-life criminal cases, particularly mass shootings.

Padilla blamed the TCC and similar online communities for what he described as an alarming trend of school violence. He said such communities could be used to “recruit” and radicalize children and encourage them to commit violent acts.

“What our Mr. President said is true—we do have a problem with social media,” Padilla said. “We can clearly see that [the shooting] was turned into something like a game.”

Padilla’s own Senate Bill 601 does not impose a blanket ban but seeks to limit children’s use of and interaction with social media, set mandatory screen-time limits, and disable links redirecting them to external websites, among other measures.

Online games, too

Senate Majority Leader Migz Zubiri echoed Padilla’s concerns, saying the rise in school shootings involving minors could be linked to their exposure to social media and violent video games.

Padilla and Zubiri noted that the minor suspect appeared to imitate online game mechanics when he opened fire indiscriminately at schoolmates and a teacher, killing a Grade 10 student. Police said the suspect shot himself shortly afterward.

Tuesday’s attack came less than two months after the June 22 high school shooting in Tacloban, described as the deadliest school-related attack in the Philippines, which left three students dead and 20 others injured. The perpetrators, aged 14 and 15, were enrolled at the same school.

“I really feel that the times are changing and I think we must also get in tune with the times,” Zubiri said. “This social media ban is not unique to the Philippines; almost all European countries are already implementing this.”

“Let’s put political will, put our foot down, and stop this nonsense that is going around [on] the internet,” he added.

Zamboanga Mayor Khymer Olaso claimed that the ADZU shooting suspect was a “fanatic of Roblox.”

Authorities have previously linked a rise in school-based extremist activity to gaming platforms such as Roblox, Minecraft, Fortnite, Call of Duty, and Free Fire.

An investigation by the Philippine National Police-Anti-Cybercrime Group found that foreign extremists or “groomers” exploit chat functions on these gaming platforms to connect with and manipulate minors, encouraging radicalization and violence. Authorities said the usual targets are “loners” and introverted minors.

The Department of Education earlier reported an unprecedented increase in school-related violence following the Tacloban shooting, which it described as a “copycat” phenomenon in which students mirror or imitate violent acts.

Social media bans for minors

If enacted, Gatchalian’s SB 2066 would make the Philippines the latest country to restrict social media access for children under 16, joining countries including neighboring Indonesia and Malaysia.

In his privilege speech Wednesday, Gatchalian said Tuesday’s ADZU shooting should no longer be dismissed as an “isolated incident.”

He said the incident goes beyond school security, underscoring the need to address the mental health challenges faced by students at school, at home, and online.

Senator Pia Cayetano, one of the authors of the Mental Health Act (Republic Act 11036), said the shooting highlights the need for stronger mental health support in schools.

Senator Bong Go likewise said the incident should prompt the Department of Education to urgently use the more than P2 billion allocated in this year’s budget to hire school guidance counselors and associates in public schools.

Go said the country has only 40 child psychiatrists, which he described as a crisis in the supply of mental health professionals.

The Philippines has faced a severe shortage of guidance counselors since 2019. DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara said there were only 4,069 licensed guidance counselors in the country as of 2019, far below the more than 50,000 needed to meet the recommended ratio of one counselor for every 250 students.

Go also called for an immediate and comprehensive review of existing laws, gun-control regulations, and school safety measures.

He said the government should also “explore whether there is a need for a more visible police and law enforcement presence in schools.”