When national security is at hand, slap the problem, not point fingers to blame.

Over the past few months, our country has experienced a challenge to its security after a series of school shooting incidents. We should not expect much from our government, but national issues like this should have been resolved. Yet, we are still left wondering who really gets the blame.

Unfortunately, our government has no answer either. They resort to pointing fingers at who should be held accountable.

They are now turning their attention to social media and community platforms, as they are looking at them as possible channels through which violent content may reach the children. That is why the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), through their Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Council (CICC), recently banned Discord–a community and messaging platform– only to lift it in less than a day.

The restrictions against Discord and Reddit came in the wake of the school shootings in South Cotabato, Zamboanga City, and Tacloban City over the past few months, as identified by the CICC. However, such action only addresses the problem at hand prematurely. In fact, they are merely a branch of the broader problem that caused all this.

Social and community platforms, like Discord and Reddit, are also utilized for wider communication and collaboration. By addressing only one branch of the problem, the government risks disrupting the spaces also used by gamers, workers, students, and business owners for online discussion and connection.

The restriction and lifting affected users who utilize Discord for school, work, and business activities. CICC Executive Director Undersecretary Renato 'Aboy' Paraiso later apologized for the temporary disruption. But that mere apology after the inconvenience does not compensate for the trouble it had caused. It only raises suspicions among the people—does the government ever consider public opinion before making decisions that inevitably cause disruption?

Community platforms may have influenced the behavior of perpetrators, but focusing solely on them risks overlooking other factors that may have a direct contribution to the shootings.

Investigations involving national concerns should have definitive actions and elaborate approaches. When certain platforms are banned, people expect it to last for a while. But the fact that it was lifted after no less than a day raises another important question: was the decision carefully studied before it was implemented?

Instead of thinking critically, our government seems to rely on chance, through "trial and error," until issues in our country are addressed. But was it ever addressed effectively?

We are citizens of the Republic of the Philippines, and we are entitled to expect good governance from those entrusted with public office. It is as if the people are lab rats, placed on an experimentation table. Devastating choices and failures caused by the government became our burden, not theirs. We bear the costs and its consequences.

Instead of blaming community platforms alone, the government should examine the security policies and measures implemented in educational institutions. They should also discuss the environment and circumstances that may have contributed to the offender's actions.

The issue here is school shootings, so the government should not only focus on violent content—they must also examine how children gain access to weapons and what the existing school security measures are.

In fact, no deadly weapons should be present within school premises and in the possession of children.

Perhaps the government has been looking through the lens of blame rather than directly addressing the problem.

The Frontman