Remulla: Banga shooter a good kid who got into deep web, Satanism

MANILA, Philippines — The student behind the shooting incident at the Banga National High School in South Cotabato was a good kid that got exposed to the deep web and Satanism, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said on Tuesday.

Remulla said in an ambush interview at the Batasang Pambansa complex that the student, whom he called by the name “Lucky,” was an honor student who had a girlfriend and friends.

He also said the student was not bullied and had never been a bully.

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READ: Campus shooter ‘planned  attack, warned classmates’

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“It’s a very sad story, the kid, Lucky, honor student, aspiring to be a doctor, had a girlfriend, he has friends, never been bullied, never was a bully,” Remulla told reporters after the House of Representatives finished discussing the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) proposed 2027 budget.

“He just went into the deep dark web, he was influenced by an insidious group, and then he turned to Satanism and glorification of mass murder,” he added.

Remulla also said that the student’s parents did the right thing: they had Lucky checked by a psychologist in April after they discovered the manifesto stating that the student intended to harm his schoolmates.

The DILG chief said Lucky calmed down for a while, but eventually resorted to carrying out his plan as it never went out of his head.

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“But the parents did everything correctly ah, no’ng April, dinala siya no’ng nalaman, no’ng nakita ng parents ’yong manifesto, dinala siya sa psychologist and kumalma siya, and he said I will never talk to that group again,” Remulla noted.

(But the parents did everything correctly ah, in April, when the parents learned of the manifesto, he was brought to a psychologist and he calmed down, and he said I will never talk to that group again.)

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“But it never escaped his mind, and kept on pestering. So I don’t know if, para siyang ano eh, parang na-possess, parang na-groom and na-possess na hindi na mawala sa utak niya,” he added. “It preys upon their insecurities; it preys upon them, telling them that they will be glorified if they do something like this […] it’s a very insidious way of inciting that kind of thing.”

(But it never escaped his mind, and kept on pestering. So I don’t know if it seemed like he was possessed, groomed, and it never left his mind. It preys upon their insecurities; it preys upon them, telling them that they will be glorified if they do something like this […] it’s a very insidious way of inciting that kind of thing.)

Earlier, the Department of Education (DepEd) confirmed to the House of Representatives that the father of the student behind the incident — a disaster risk reduction management officer in the department — has been relieved from his post.

The father is allegedly the owner of the gun used by the student.

READ: DepEd says South Cotabato school shooter’s father relieved from post

Then, in the afternoon, Remulla said the government is currently going after individuals who have been influencing students to start shooting sprees inside schools, adding that they are close to catching one of those behind these efforts.

Also, Remulla noted that four other individuals involved in planning school shootings were caught.

“They’re from the Philippines eh, actually, we almost caught one of them; we are chasing him right now. We located him already, but he wasn’t there at the location we thought he was at, but we know where he lives, and he lives in the same area,” he said.

“There are many individuals, actually we caught four others who were planning to do the same actions. That’s why I have told you that it takes all of my attention to make sure that this is stopped, all the necessary procedures, we’re restudying it, and if we reach a point that we have to take down those websites, we will study what we have to do,” he added.

Three students, including the shooter, died after the incident at South Cotabato last Friday, while six others were injured.

READ: South Cotabato school shooting kills 3, hurts 6

However, this is not the first school-related violence that the country has seen—as the incident in South Cotabato is the third gun attack inside campuses in a span of three months.

Last August 18, the Ateneo de Zamboanga University confirmed that two individuals—including the Grade 9 student tagged as the shooter—died after a shooting incident inside their campus.

READ: Zamboanga City school shooting suspect dead — DILG

Then on June 22, three students were killed, and five others were wounded when two suspects — both minors and students — opened fire inside the San Jose National High School campus in Tacloban City, Leyte.

The suspects, a 14-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy at the Grade 9 level, were arrested on the same day. A Glock pistol and a caliber .38 revolver were confiscated from them.

Due to the incidents, several lawmakers and government officials have called for a social media ban for children, amid fears that unrestricted online access has influenced students to initiate shooting incidents.

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There is a belief that the perpetrators in both incidents were supposedly exposed to violent content online or joined groups engaged in nihilistic violent extremist (NVE) behavior or senseless violence. /cb