Authorities closing in on youth ‘groomers’

MANILA, Philippines — Authorities are closing in on people allegedly grooming minors into criminal activities, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Monday.

According to Remulla, President Marcos has ordered intensified efforts against emerging groups targeting young people, including an alleged community-based syndicate known as True Brown Style (TBS), which he said recruits teenagers into criminal activities.

“We are almost there,” Remulla told reporters at Camp Crame.

The group allegedly targets children as young as 14 or 15, with members in their late teens or early 20s grooming them to commit crimes such as robbing convenience stores.

Remulla said authorities are studying the group’s command structure and will take steps to prevent it from expanding in communities.

He also distinguished the alleged TBS recruitment from online grooming linked to a recent shooting incident, explaining that the latter involves a different group whose influence includes Satanism, Nazism and nihilism, which authorities believe can encourage young people to view life as meaningless.

The government is preparing a nationwide communications program for parents on how to talk to children about these online influences and respond to warning signs, Remulla said.

Part of the President’s directive, the campaign aims to help parents understand emerging threats facing young people as internet use changes the way criminal and extremist influences reach them.

Remulla revealed that the government would also look into officials and other people who may be linked to such activities, stressing that there would be no exemptions.