Teen from Negros Occidental turns violent after getting into online gaming

An 18-year-old from Toboso, Negros Occidental, reportedly turned aggressive and hurt his family after three days of nonstop online gaming.

According to a report on “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho,” Roy (not his real name) has been going wild, shouting, punching, and spitting. It reached the point where his relatives had to tie and lock him up in a metal cage.

It all started when Roy got into online gaming.

“Sabi niya, ‘Ma, puwede bang suportahan mo na lang ako, maglalaro ako ng online game? Kasi magaling ako dyan, Ma,’” his mother Elenie said on “KMJS.”

[“He said, ‘Ma, can you support me? I’m going to play an online game. Because I’m good at that, Ma.’”]

His dream was to become a content creator, to play games for a chance at fame and fortune.

He promised his mother that once he earns money from gaming, he will provide for her so that she can stop working in Manila and return home to their province. He would also be able to go to school, he added.

Elenie gifted him a new cellphone on his birthday, and since then, he has been playing nonstop. This was when his family started noticing changes in him.

“Palagi na siyang magagalitin. Napansin namin na mabilis siyang mapikon. ‘Yung isa nga naming kaibigan, sinabihan siya na wala siyang galaw sa laro, bigla siyang nagalit. Muntik na silang magsuntukan. Inawat lang namin,” Roy's friend John Mark said.

[“He had become easily angered. We noticed he would get irritated very quickly. One of our friends even told him that he had no moves in the game, and he suddenly got mad. They almost ended up in a fistfight. We just stepped in to stop them.”]

Things took a turn for the worse when Roy played for three days straight, without eating or sleeping. And then he turned violent, hurting even himself.

“‘Pag natatalo siya sa laro, pinupukpok niya 'yung ulo sa semento. Minsan ‘yung cellphone, sinusuntok niya eh,” Elenie said. “Nagmumura na. Hindi na namin mapagsabihan kasi hindi na nakikinig. Parang wala na sa sarili.”

[“When he lost in the game, he would bang his head on the concrete. Sometimes he would even punch his cellphone. He started cursing. We couldn’t scold him anymore because he wouldn’t listen. It was like he was no longer himself.””]

“Iba-iba na ‘yung pinagsasabi niya. Sabi niya, ‘Ma, ipapasyal kita sa New York ‘pag ma-monetize ito.’ Lagi ko sinasabi na itigil mo na ‘yan,” she added.

[“He started saying all sorts of things. He told me, ‘Ma, I’ll take you to New York once this gets monetized.’ I kept telling him to stop that.”]

Roy then started taking it out on his family.

His grandfather Bayani said that Roy punched and kicked him, while his grandmother Elsa got shoved.

“Natamaan ako sa tiyan. Hindi ako makahinga kaya umupo ako,” Bayani said.

[I got hit in the stomach. I couldn’t breathe, so I sat down.]

Elsa added, “Nabigla kami. Doon na kami nagtaka nung nanakit na siya.”

[We were shocked. That’s when we started to worry, because he began hurting people.]

Roy’s family first thought that he was taking illegal drugs. However, his drug test turned out negative.

They took Roy to church to pray over him. This was when the family figured out that his attitude had changed due to his online gaming addiction.

When Elenie heard about this, she journeyed from Manila to Negros.

“Sobrang nagsisisi. Sabi ko, ‘Nak, ako ang dahilan kung bakit nangyari sa iyo ‘yan. Sana hindi ko na lang binilhan ng cellphone,’” she said.

[‘I really regret it. I told him, ‘Son, I’m the reason why that happened to you. I wish I hadn’t bought you a cellphone.”]

Elenie cried, “Nadudurog talaga ako. Kasi sayang bata pa siya at marami pa siyang pangarap. Masakit bilang isang nanay na nakikita yung anak ko na ganun. Sobrang sakit.”

[“It really breaks me. He’s still so young and he had so many dreams. As a mother, it’s painful to see my child like that. It hurts so much.”]

Roy, who has been under the care of his grandparents, was always a kind boy. He just graduated from senior high school, and was even part of a church group. His friends John Mark and Nick shared that Roy wants to be an engineer one day.

“Naawa ako sa kanya. Hindi ako makapaniwala. Naalala ko ‘yung mga pinagdaanan namin dati. Kapag kasama ko siya, wala siyang problema. Kung may problema ako, nandiyan siya. Kung meron siyang problema, sinasabihan ko din siya,” Nick said.

[“I felt sorry for him. I couldn’t believe it. I remembered everything we had gone through before. When he was with me, he had no problems. If I had a problem, he was there. If he had a problem, I would talk to him about it too.”]

Roy's uncle Elvis said they work together to restrain him.

He added that with their daily tasks, it has been difficult to care for Roy. 

To understand Roy’s condition, the KMJS team accompanied his family to a psychiatrist, who diagnosed him with Schizophreniform Disorder, a mental health condition that can cause hallucinations and delusions.

The expert explained that the disorder may have a genetic component, meaning Roy might have inherited it from a family member. The psychiatrist also noted that certain lifestyle factors—such as excessive mobile gaming, during which Roy reportedly neglected basic self-care like eating and sleeping—may have triggered the onset of his symptoms.

He was then prescribed medication to help him sleep and calm down.

Since Elenie needed to go back to work in Manila, his relatives found it hard to give Roy his medicines.

Meanwhile, Elenie was heartbroken to leave her son. She hopes he could still recover.

“Gusto ko sabihin sa kanya, mahal na mahal ko siya. Patawarin niya ako kung bakit hindi ko siya napag-aral,” she said, crying.

[“I want to tell him that I love him very much. I hope he can forgive me for not being able to send him to school.”]

Elenie told the public, “Sa mga gusto pong tumulong, sa mga pinagpala ng Panginoon, may kakayahan, may mga sobra-sobrang financial. Sana matulungan niyo yung anak ko na gumaling po siya. Mabalik po siya sa normal.”

[“To those who want to help, to those blessed by the Lord, who are capable and have more than enough financially, I hope you can help my child get better. So that he can receive proper treatment and return to normal.”]

For those who wish to help, donations may be sent to: 

ACCOUNT NAME: ELENIE CINCO SALOMA

ACCOUNT NUMBER: 114602037024

BANK: CHINABANK —JCB, GMA Integrated News