MANILA – The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has apprehended a person who may be linked to the deadly school shooting in Banga, South Cotabato, and separately arrested a suspected online groomer in Cebu, its chief said Thursday.

NBI Director Melvin Matibag disclosed the developments during the Senate deliberation on the Department of Justice’s proposed 2027 budget, where he discussed the bureau’s monitoring of violent online communities operating in the deep and dark web.

“Yesterday, we were able to get hold of one of the individuals na (who is) somehow related to what happened in South Cotabato,” Matibag said.

He did not identify the individual or provide details on the person’s alleged role in the Sept. 18 attack at Banga National High School.

The disclosure came a day after Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said authorities were pursuing a person suspected of influencing the minor shooter through online conversations and had identified the person’s location in the Philippines.

The Banga shooting left three students dead, including the shooter, and six others wounded.

Authorities are investigating the student’s participation in an online community and whether it contributed to the attack.

In the same hearing, Matibag disclosed a separate operation in Cebu.

“Yesterday also, we made an apprehension of one of suspected groomers from Cebu,” he said.

Matibag did not identify the suspect or say whether the Cebu operation was connected to the Banga case.

He said the NBI has been monitoring groups operating in less visible portions of the internet as authorities investigate online grooming and the spread of violent content among young people.

The Banga incident was the country’s third fatal school shooting since June, following attacks in Tacloban and Zamboanga, prompting authorities to intensify monitoring of online threats and the possible grooming of minors into violence. (PNA)