Senator Risa Hontiveros called on Thursday for the immediate certification of the Child Online Safety and Protection Act, an expanded version of the existing Anti-Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) Law, following a deadly shooting at Ateneo de Zamboanga University.
According to Hontiveros, enacting the expanded legislation will establish a necessary legal framework for the government to combat Nihilistic Violent Extremism (NVE).
The proposed measure has already cleared its third reading in the House of Representatives and is presently in the period of amendments within the Senate.
”This bill should be certified as urgent. NVE is an alarming new trend that needs immediate action,” Hontiveros said.
”Passing the amended Anti-OSAEC bill would give law enforcement agencies the tools to apprehend suspects and perpetrators. Huwag na nating hintayin na dumami pa ang school shooting bago umaksyon,” she added.
While leading a hearing with the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality, the lawmaker emphasized that Congress must act to close digital loopholes that allow violent networks to radicalize and groom minors.
She pointed out that although OSAEC and NVE represent distinct threats, both rely on identical online platforms, oversight gaps, and systemic failures in early detection.
Once signed into law, the expanded bill will criminalize technology-facilitated violence targeted at children, encompassing both non-sexual and sexual abuse.
”We authored the Anti-OSAEC law to shield our children from different forms of online abuse and exploitation,” Hontiveros noted.
”Ngayong may panibagong banta laban sa kanila, tungkulin nating tugunan ito nang walang pag aalinlangan,” she stressed.
Hontiveros added that committee inquiries revealed how NVE networks target isolated youth, glorify violent acts, and normalize harmful online activities.
”The emerging threat of NVE is real. It is nefarious […] Including mental health, parental supervision, access to firearms, security protocols, and others. It is one of the many factors behind school shootings that we must not take for granted,” she said.