Manila: The June 22 school shooting in Tacloban City where three students were killed and 20 others were injured underscored the need for continued national discussion on terror grooming, radicalization, and violent extremism, a ranking official of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) said on Saturday.
According to Philippines News Agency, NTF-ELCAC Executive Director, Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr., emphasized that these issues are not confined to traditional battlefields or organized terrorist groups. "More and more, it is becoming clear that the pathways to violence are now passing through classrooms, chat groups, online communities, social media feeds, and homes where actors continuously concoct styles and methods to recruit children and youth," he stated.
Torres highlighted the NTF-ELCAC's strong support for legislative measures such as Senate Bill 1366, House Bill 7460, House Bill 05484, and House Bill 07204, collectively known as the proposed Terror Grooming and Radicalization Prevention Acts. These bills aim to prevent terrorism at its roots by criminalizing terror grooming and radicalization, protecting vulnerable sectors, and disrupting recruitment pathways before individuals become involved in terrorist activities.
"The purpose is not to criminalize children or to demonize students, activism, or free expression. The proposed measures are intended to fill a perceived gap in the country's counterterrorism framework by addressing the earliest stages of terrorist recruitment," Torres explained.
He further explained that the focus of the bills is to disrupt the processes of grooming, indoctrination, radicalization, and recruitment that enable terrorist organizations to sustain their membership and influence. This approach is crucial in addressing recruitment pathways identified in intelligence and security assessments, including ideological conditioning, immersion activities, online influence operations, and the exploitation of vulnerable sectors by extremist organizations.
"For decades, we have seen how organized extremist movements prey on the youth. They take anger and give it ideology. They take pain and turn it into hatred. They take idealism and redirect it toward armed violence. Today, we must also contend with more creative, faster, and more hidden forms of violent influence, especially online," Torres said.
He clarified that the lesson from the Tacloban shooting is not to label every angry or angsty child as an extremist. Torres warned against such oversimplification, calling it unfair and dangerous. Instead, he stressed that the country must prioritize prevention to avoid future violence.
"In this context, the proposed legislations deserve sober and serious discussion. Prevention is not 'fascism' when it is anchored on child protection, due process, human rights, and community support. Schools need stronger guidance systems, functioning child protection committees, mental health referral pathways, trained teachers, and clear early-warning protocols," Torres stated.
He concluded that protecting children from terror grooming and radicalization is essential to safeguarding their right to life, safety, education, and a future free from fear. Torres emphasized that schools and universities should be sanctuaries of learning and growth, not arenas for fear, recruitment, or violence.
