By: Holly Bacay – Inquirer.net|August 23,2026 – 07:03 AM
MANILA Philippines — An association of local game developers on Saturday opposed a total ban on Roblox in the country, saying such a move would not prevent individuals who prey on children from accessing other online platforms.
In a statement, the Filipino Roblox Developers Association (FRDA) urged authorities to adopt a “more targeted response” and strengthen safeguards instead of banning the entire platform. It said a total ban would also affect millions of users who are not involved in criminal activities.
“Even if investigators eventually establish strong evidence that harmful influence can be traced to Roblox, banning the entire platform would still only close one door. It would not stop bad actors from trying other online spaces where children are present,” the FRDA said.
READ: No Roblox ban in PH, DICT says
This statement came as Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla said that the junior high school perpetrator in the Zamboanga school shooting last Aug. 18 may have been influenced by Roblox, a game that was previously linked to incidents of online child exploitation.
The FRDA said Roblox is hosting multiple servers, thus, the appropriate response must only target a “particular feature, community, communication channel, or experience” and not the entire website.
READ: Remulla: No security lapse in Zamboanga school shooting
“Before imposing a measure that broad, we believe the public deserves to see the evidence supporting it and understand exactly where the safety failure occurred,” it added.
The association further rejected Remulla’s claim that the 14-year-old perpetrator, who had been recording the attack on his Facebook live, may have been copying a first-person point of view (POV) shooter game.
“A first-person POV is also a natural way to record, especially when someone is filming alone,” the FRDA said.
“Since Secretary Remulla himself said the student acted on his own, this could just as reasonably explain why the footage was captured that way. That similarity alone does not establish that he was trying to emulate a first-person shooter game,” it added.
The FRDA maintained that their call is not to “ignore the risk” but to get a clearer picture of the evidence linking Roblox to the incident.
“If the government can show us where the gap is, we are ready to help close it,” it said.
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