Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said investigators are looking into whether online activity, including chats on the gaming platform Roblox, influenced the minor involved in Tuesday’s shooting at Ateneo de Zamboanga University (ADZU), which left the shooter and another junior high school student dead.
Zamboanga Mayor Khymer Adan Olaso declared Wednesday, Aug. 19, an official day of mourning and suspended classes at all levels in public and private schools across the city.
ADZU separately kept classes suspended until Thursday to give students, faculty and staff time to recover.
The firearms used in the attack were taken from the vehicle of the suspect’s father, who worked at the Bureau of Customs, Customs Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno said Wednesday, intensifying calls for stricter gun-safety measures and tighter school security.
Remulla said the claim of the shooter’s father—that he left his firearms in the car that ferried his son to school and thus allowed the student to get hold of the guns—was “highly improbable.”
‘Chats on Roblox expose youth to radicalization’
Remulla also said investigators were examining the student’s electronic devices, including possible activity on Roblox and other online platforms.
He stressed that Roblox itself was not dangerous but group chats on the gaming platform could expose young users to violent content and potentially contribute to radicalization.
“Roblox itself is not a dangerous game, it was the chat,” Remulla said of the online game that also surfaced following the shooting at a public high school in Tacloban City last June, which left three students dead and 20 injured.
He called on Congress to consider restrictions on first-person shooter games that could influence young people.
“I call upon the Congress again to help us control and curb the use of first-person shooter games that influence these young minds,” Remulla said.
Remulla said investigators were also looking into the student’s alleged use of a gore website, where he reportedly posted a livestream of the shooting. Authorities have yet to complete the forensic examination of his electronic devices.
Psychosocial support for parents, community
The DILG chief said the student had been described as a high-performing pupil with no reported history of bullying or known behavioral problems. He said authorities are examining whether online interactions may have contributed to the student’s emotional distress.
Meanwhile, Education Secretary Sonny Angara said Ateneo has started to reach out to ADZU parents as part of their psychosocial support following Tuesday’s incident.
“They have already spoken with the parents, but it is still only on a voluntary basis for now. The challenge is how to reach all of them,” Angara told reporters at the campus he visited on Wednesday, accompanied by Mayor Olaso and school officials.
Psychiatrist Dr. Randy Dellosa pointed out that the second school shooting in just three months affects the entire community, requiring a community-wide response.
“What happens is that parents become more hypervigilant, the teachers become scared of having to monitor everything and everyone, and the students themselves it’s very scary for them to think that the killer was one of their very own schoolmates… this is quite very alarming and it will raise the anxiety levels of everyone,” he said in an ANC interview.
Empathy for the victims should be the top priority in the wake of such tragedies, Dellosa said, adding: “This is not just ordinary, a regular crime that we keep on hearing about. There are victims and now the students themselves have experienced the impact of death.”
Dellosa pointed to what he called “weak social media regulations for minors,” which he said could contribute to worsening incidents.
“So, it’s also unfair to blame parents, schools or other factors when social media platforms themselves do not abide by their own community rules,” he said.
Palace: Exercise restraint in reporting
The Presidential Communications Office urged media organizations and the public to exercise restraint in reporting and sharing material related to the shooting, particularly graphic videos and other content involving minors.
PCO Secretary Dave Gomez appealed to media organizations to exercise extreme care and responsibility in covering the incident and avoid publishing material that could compromise the dignity, safety and privacy of the victims, their families and other minors or interfere with the investigation.
The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center said it was monitoring social media activity related to the shooting, including videos of the attack.
It was coordinating with Meta, the parent company of Facebook, to seek the immediate removal of the footage and urged netizens not to repost or share the material, warning that continued circulation could cause public panic or encourage copycat attacks.
The Philippine National Police likewise ordered intensified cyber patrols to remove photos and videos related to the shooting.
PNP Chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. directed the Anti-Cybercrime Group to coordinate with social media platforms to take down the material and prevent its repeated circulation.
“This is an unfortunate incident that should be treated with utmost sensitivity, especially that there were minors involved,” Nartatez said.
Senator Pia Cayetano also called for tighter restrictions on social media access for young children, saying parents and schools must play a stronger role in protecting minors from harmful content and online predators.
Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong and Manila Rep. Joel Chua also expressed condolences to the family of the slain student.
Remulla: Amend ‘Robin Padilla Law’
Remulla also called on Congress to amend what he referred to as the “Robin Padilla Law” or Republic Act No. 8294 to make illegal possession of firearms a non-bailable offense.
He said loose firearms were involved in the overwhelming majority of firearm-related crimes and argued that stronger penalties were needed to prevent unauthorized access to guns.
Padilla, now a sitting senator who spent three years in jail for illegal possession of unlicensed weapons, thanked Remulla for mentioning the law and expressed his support for declaring martial law if necessary to curb violence.
Remulla also questioned the storage of the firearms allegedly used in the Zamboanga shooting, saying firearm owners should be responsible for securing their weapons and preventing minors from accessing them.
Nartatez said the PNP was considering additional gun-safety requirements for firearm owners, including comprehensive safety seminars not only for applicants for a License to Own and Possess Firearms and firearm registration but also for those renewing their permits, as well as consulting gun-store owners.
The PNP’s Firearms and Explosives Office, which handles firearm licenses, permits and registrations, is preparing updated guidelines for regular gun-safety seminars for registered firearm owners nationwide, Nartatez said.
Beyond guards, cameras, metal detectors and higher fences, Angara said schools should regularly check in on students and conduct active-shooter drills to improve awareness among students, faculty and staff.
He said measures such as hiring security guards, installation of surveillance cameras, metal detectors, and construction of higher fences are a great help but not actually a deterrent.
The DepEd chief encouraged schools to conduct active shooter drills to create awareness among the students, faculty, and staff. Ateneo de Zamboanga had a drill conducted last July 18 and another was scheduled for Sept. 1, he noted.