Senator Risa Hontiveros announced Friday that she will coordinate with the German Embassy in Manila to ensure the creator of the video game GoreBox participates in the Senate’s upcoming probe into online child safety, which was prompted by a tragic school shooting in Tacloban City.
The move comes after Felix Filip, a Germany-based independent developer of the controversial sandbox game, turned down invitations to join the July 1 hearing of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality either physically or virtually.
The mobile game was recently slapped with a temporary ban by the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) following a shooting at San Jose National High School that resulted in three student fatalities and 20 injuries. One of the two teenage suspects behind the attack was reportedly a frequent player of GoreBox.
“Nakakadismaya na pinili ni Mr. Filip na huwag dumalo sa darating na hearing namin lalo na’t marami sana akong gustong malaman mula sa kanya mismo,” Hontiveros said in a statement.
“My committee remains open to facilitate his attendance and participation in our investigation in case he changes his mind. Hindi dito nagtatapos ang aming pagnanais na marinig siya,” she added.
Hontiveros explained that the committee intends to question Filip regarding the game’s safety protocols, including its age verification features, content moderation practices, and strategies for shielding minors from toxic online environments.
The inquiry aims to investigate the external factors that could have influenced the perpetrators of the campus assault.