Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla is calling on the government to evaluate a potential ban on violent online games. The recommendation follows findings that a suspect in a recent school shooting in Tacloban City was heavily immersed in a highly violent digital game.
The specific title, GoreBox, is an open-ended sandbox game featuring weapons, destructible environments, and physics-based systems designed for creating and destroying scenarios, according to the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC).
While the CICC has already instituted a temporary block on the game within the Philippines, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) suggested that similar restrictions could be extended to other violent games accessible to minors.
“Games espousing violence like Gorebox should be permanently banned in the Philippines. These desensitize young people into the elements of death, elements of violence, and elements of murder,” Remulla said.
The tragedy in Tacloban has renewed public and administrative debates regarding the external factors shaping youth behavior, particularly the consequences of repeated exposure to digital violence.
Remulla urged Congress and relevant state agencies to investigate regulatory frameworks and potential prohibitions to protect impressionable minds.
“Congress should also study the matter,” he said.
The DILG chief emphasized that violent gaming can negatively alter behavioral development, making government intervention a necessary step to address the issue.