Hontiveros denies involvement in game bans

Trisha Matabalan, Philippine Canadian Inquirer
June 30, 2026

(Photo courtesy: Risa Hontiveros/Facebook)

PHILIPPINES – On June 30, Tuesday, Senator Risa Hontiveros denied any and all involvement in game bans. She also urged the public to be careful about believing fake news.

In a recent statement, she declared, “I never recommended, said, or even thought about banning any game, including this GoreBox.” Further, it was clarified that the banning was done by one of the Philippine government agencies, namely the Cyber Crime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC).

GoreBox was the game allegedly involved in the Tacloban school shooting. Hontiveros recently insisted on the participation of its developer during the Senate hearing on July 1. “I would have wanted the GoreBox developer to be there, but if he’s still not going to participate tomorrow, marami pa tayong matutunan dun sa ibang shareholders about how to make games and how to make our whole society safer for our children, both online and of course offline, pati sa ating mga eskwelahan,” she said.

She mentioned that the stakeholders in the hearing tomorrow will include the parents of the victims of the school shooting, the aunt of the one of the school shooters who was identified as PNP personnel and the owner of the gun used during the tragic incident, DEPED, DSWD, Globe, Smart, the Game Developers Association of the Philippines, and PNP Tacloban, among others.