MANILA, Philippines — Government officials, law enforcement agencies, educators, and civil society groups gathered on Friday, November 6, at the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) in Ortigas, Pasig City, to address the growing threat of school-based violence and online-driven nihilistic violent extremism.
Organized by Sagot Ka ni JuanHand, the multisectoral forum titled “Addressing School-Based Violence: A Multisectoral Forum on Preventing Nihilistic Violent Extremism (NVE)” focused on protecting young people from harmful online influences, identifying behavioral warning signs, and fortifying child protection mechanisms across educational institutions.
Principal Security Architect and Dark Web & Intelligence Strategist Brian Borysewich highlighted how nihilistic violent extremism targets children aged 7 to 15 through digital platforms, manipulating their mindset to recruit them for violent acts, including incidents within school settings.
Legal experts and law enforcement officials—including DOJ lawyer Atty. Ian Norman Dato, Rojun Hosillos of the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), Police Capt. Vince Joshua Garcia of the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG), and Ronald Gustilo of Digital Pinoys—also discussed investigation protocols and legal frameworks distinguishing standard student conflicts from serious online threats.
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla, Communications Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro, and Education Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara voiced deep concern over escalating student violence.
Reflecting on troubled youths undergoing counseling, Remulla remarked:
“These kids, they saw a psychiatrist, they saw a guidance counselor, their family had to be involved. There is only one conclusion that I can tell about it. They were possessed. There is a deeper and darker force taking over the children’s minds which they could not control.”
To combat these risks, Angara highlighted an ongoing initiative involving a joint Memorandum of Agreement with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to deploy barangay tanods to secure schools nationwide.
Additional panels featuring Department of Education lawyer Razzel Anne Requesto, Janice Tapil of Child Rights Coalition Asia, DSWD’s Elvis Quitalig, and parenting mentor Mariel Kliatchko stressed the importance of early mental health interventions and active parental monitoring of screen time for children aged 3 to 7.
The event concluded with closing remarks from JuanHand CEO Francisco Roberto “Coco” Mauricio, reinforcing the organization’s commitment to driving community welfare and collective action for safer schools.