A bid to outlaw violent video games for good is gaining a high-profile backer in the Cabinet, with Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Thursday calling for Congress to examine how such titles can be kept out of the Philippines in the wake of a campus shooting that killed three students in Tacloban City.
Speaking to reporters at Camp Crame, Remulla singled out one game by name and tied its content directly to the violence he says it normalizes among the young. “Games espousing violence like GoreBox should be permanently banned from the Philippines. I believe that it desensitizes young people to the elements of death, violence, and murder,” he said.
The interior chief framed the matter as one for lawmakers to take up. “I believe that the government, that Congress should study the matter on how to stop this,” he added, shifting partly into Filipino as he spoke.
His remarks pointed back to the attack at San Jose National High School on Monday morning, where two teenagers, aged 14 and 15, fired on the campus. Three students were killed and at least 20 others were hurt. Police have said the pair were drawn to GoreBox, a game built around graphic depictions of killing, before the assault.
That account has already triggered government action. The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center moved to block GoreBox nationwide on a temporary basis following the shooting, a measure Remulla now wants converted into a permanent prohibition through legislation.
