Senator Risa Hontiveros seeks probe into pattern of youth violence after Zamboanga school shooting

Abi Sarabia M., Philippine Canadian Inquirer
August 20, 2026

Photo courtesy: Philippine News Agency

MANILA, Philippines  — Philippine Senator Risa Hontiveros has filed a resolution seeking a Senate investigation into what she described as a growing pattern of serious violence involving minors following the shooting at Ateneo de Zamboanga University.

Hontiveros filed the resolution on Wednesday, August 19, after a gunman opened fire on the university campus. Videos of the incident were livestreamed and widely shared online, along with unverified information.

Authorities are still investigating the motive behind the attack. 

Hontiveros said firearms recovered from the shooter were registered to his father, an employee of the Bureau of Customs.

“While the investigation is ongoing and the motive for the shooting is still unclear, what remains certain is that schools must be zones of peace and learning with no place for violence or killing,” Hontiveros said.

She noted that Ateneo de Zamboanga had conducted an active shooter simulation exercise on July 18, 2026, less than a month before the incident.

Hontiveros also warned against the rapid spread of unverified videos and reports after violent incidents, saying these could cause panic and potentially encourage copycat attacks.

The senator said the Zamboanga shooting was part of a broader pattern of violent incidents involving students since a shooting in Tacloban. 

These included shooting and bomb threats, as well as stabbing incidents, one of which resulted in a death.

“This phenomenon of serious violent activity, possibly characterized by nihilist violent extremism perpetrated by young students against their fellow students in places of learning, while relatively recent, has already cut short one too many lives,” she said.

Hontiveros is also proposing to expand Senate Bill No. 1819 and rename it the Child Online Protection and Safety Act to cover online harms beyond sexual exploitation, including nihilistic violent extremism involving minors.

The Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, chaired by Hontiveros, describes nihilistic violent extremism as a phenomenon in which malicious individuals groom young people online to commit serious acts of violence.

“The new title of the bill will be the Child Online Protection and Safety Act, stemming from the recognition that online harms to children are not merely sexual,” Hontiveros said.

The proposed amendments would give law enforcement additional tools to investigate online threats involving minors, including access to subscriber and traffic data, intelligence gathering, undercover online operations, and preservation of digital evidence.

The measure would also improve information-sharing among Philippine law enforcement agencies and allow direct cooperation with foreign authorities in cases involving international networks.