NBI nabs person linked to S. Cotabato shooting, ‘groomer’ in Cebu

MANILA, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation has apprehended an individual being linked to last week’s fatal campus shooting in Banga, South Cotabato, and another person suspected of being an online groomer in Cebu.

NBI Director Melvin Matibag mentioned the arrests on Thursday during a Senate hearing on the proposed 2027 budget of the Department of Justice (DOJ), of which the bureau is an attached agency.

“Incidentally, I just want to report that yesterday we were able to get one of the individuals who is somehow related to what happened in South Cotabato,” Matibag said.

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The NBI chief did not provide details about the arrested person’s role in the Sept. 18 attack at Banga National High School, where authorities said a 16-year-old student armed with a Glock 9mm pistol shot two students dead and wounded at least six others, before killing himself.

But he said the NBI’s coordination with the school resulted in the arrest.

As to the alleged groomer in Cebu, Matibag said the arrest was made based on a search warrant issued by a local court.

He said “a rescue of 10 individuals from (the suspect’s) group” may be expected in the next few days.

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Communications

In a media interview after the hearing, Matibag said the NBI also uses the term “rescue”—rather than arrest—in cases involving minors.

He said the alleged groomer, whom he described to be 16 years old, had been in communication with someone in another school in South Cotabato, encouraging the latter to copy what happened in Banga.

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“This one is actually identified as having a direct link to the incident in South Cotabato … We studied the platforms they were using, we saw the communications,” Matibag said. /cb