Stronger measures vs school violence pushed

MANILA, Philippines — Financial technology lending company JuanHand is pushing for stronger preventive measures and greater public awareness of school-related violence amid a string of incidents in recent months.

JuanHand president and CEO Francisco Mauricio said there is a need for a stronger response against cases of nihilistic violent extremism.

NVE is an emerging internet subculture in which vulnerable individuals, often minors, are groomed and manipulated into committing real-world violence.

“We want to create awareness about this problem, which can actually grow very big if we’re not careful,” Mauricio said.

To help broaden awareness of the issue, JuanHand and the University of Asia and the Pacific organized a forum last Nov. 6, which brought together government agencies, experts and cybersecurity specialists to discuss emerging threats affecting children and students.