Senator Ana Theresia "Risa" N. Hontiveros-Baraquel said on Thursday that media and information literacy (MIL) can help protect students against online threats allegedly linked to incidents of serious school violence in the Philippines.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Philippine Media and Information Literacy Conference (MILCon) 2026, she said investigations into recent incidents of serious violence point to nihilistic violent extremism (NVE), driven in part by malign actors abusing safe spaces online. Her remarks tie an education-policy push to the ongoing security examinations, positioning classroom-based digital skills as part of the broader response to the violence.

"The nihilistic violent extremism (NVE) that emerges in the investigations into incidents of serious violence really shows that a big factor there is the abuse of some malign actors of safe spaces," the senator said. "Part of protecting our youth against NVE is this proactive media literacy."

According to Ms. Hontiveros-Baraquel, equipping students with proper digital literacy enables children to protect themselves against threat actors and navigate the online realm safely.

Her comments came after three school shootings between June and September this year killed at least eight students and injured more than 20 others. Authorities are examining whether online "groomers" lurking on social media platforms and games may have contributed to the students' violent actions. That line of inquiry extends the scope of the investigations to social media platforms and online games.

"It's very important in our education to teach this to our students," she said. "We want to teach our youth to navigate the digital world safely, especially for their needs in the community, in civic and political awareness and participation."

The senator added that the Batang Ligtas Act, which consolidates Senate Bill 1819 and House Bill 9461, can further safeguard children in the digital space. "It's important because it will expand the protection against online sexual abuse and exploitation of children, and it will also provide the tools to protect the children from NVE," she said. The consolidated measure's progress through Congress will determine whether the protections she described take effect.

The Department of Education (DepEd) has previously transformed MIL from a core subject taught in senior high school (SHS) into a topic discussed across core subjects. Under the strengthened SHS curriculum, the number of core subjects has been reduced from 15 to five. In practical terms, MIL is no longer a standalone course; its delivery now runs through the five consolidated core subjects.

"The foundation of basic to higher education is always important in the humanistic liberal arts orientation, and it's very timely because our world is increasingly digitized," the senator said.

The Philippines will host the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Global MIL Week 2027, following the country's push to boost digital critical competencies. The global event will run from Oct. 24 to 31, 2027, in Quezon City, giving the country's digital-competency push a fixed international milestone on the calendar.

Originally reported by Almira Louise S. Martinez for BusinessWorld.