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Mark Ernest Villeza - The Philippine Star
October 30, 2026 | 12:00am
Policemen stand near the crime scene of a school compound after a shooting incident at a high school compound in Tacloban City, Leyte province on June 22, 2026.
AFP / Noel Sianosa
MANILA, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has identified at least 60 people including minors and foreigners behind the online grooming of children in connection with the Tacloban school shooting.
NBI-Eastern Visayas chief Jeremy Lotoc said on Wednesday that the suspects were identified through digital evidence gathered by a task force investigating the shooting at the San Jose National High School on June 22.
“Not all 60 subjects have direct contact with the shooters, but they definitely have influence through their network,” Lotoc said.
The figure may increase as investigators are looking at about 200 other people suspected of influencing minors to carry out violent attacks.
The NBI is looking at the group’s organizational structure, recruitment methods, reach and possible links to extremist groups, Lotoc said.
“One of their methodologies is to identify vulnerable minors like those with problems with their families or schools, and influence them to carry out attacks,” he said. “Radicalization is a convergence of factors, but online influence plays a major part.”
The Tacloban school shooting left three students dead and 20 others wounded.
Two students were arrested in connection with the attack.
Lotoc said investigators continue to receive digital evidence almost daily and have yet to set a timeline for the completion of the probe.
