Lawmakers seek
end to hazing
IIAZINC remains parl
of the culture of fra-
ternities and sororities
because it has been
tions and embraced by the l'outh, who beli€ve that
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-awmakers
rining these groups boosts
reir stock.
Hazingis so ingrained thatsome
'aternities have even flouted the
rw that bans it.
put
Bnt some lawmakers want to
stop lo this practic€ once and for
ll to prevent more deaths.
"'lhere should be no hazing,"
egros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves
. told Manila 1imes.
The
"Tests of strergth, endulance
rd Loyalty can be done in other
rn-barbaric ways," he added.
Ako Bicol partyJist Rep. Alftedo
arbin, a ilhu Gamma Phi member
rd an author of the Anti-Hazing
:t of 2018, said those involved in
:adlyhazing rites should be lailed.
"lf a death occurs during haz-
g, that will be punishable by life
rprisonment and millions' wonh
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offines," he noted.
The death of Cdt. 4th Class
Darwin Dormitorio in the hands
of his fellow cadets at the Philip-
pine Military Academy (PMA) and
the recent hazing exposd at the
Univenity of the Philippines (UP)
sparked public outrage and raised
questions on the implementation
of Republic Act (RA) 11053 or the
"Anti- Hazing Act of 2018, "
Garbin urged authorities to im-
pose stiffer penalties. He also prod-
ded educational institutions that
"have not been taking the law seri-
ously" to sanction studens involved
in any haz ing-related actMtla
RA 11053 defines hazingas "any
act that results in physical or psy-
chological suffering, harm or inju-
ry inflicted on a recrui! neoph)'te,
applicant or member as part ofan
initiation rite or practice' neces-
sary for admission in a fratemiry
sorority or organization through
"paddling, whipping, beating,
branding, forced calisthenics, ex-
posurc to tie weather, [and] forced
consumption of any food, liquor,
beveragg drug or other substance, "
among others.
The law covers edumtional in-
stitutions and uniformed service
learning organizatiotis such as
the PMA, the Philippirie National
Police and the Arrned Forces ofthe
Philippines.
Those who planned or par-
ticipated in the hazing that led to
death, rape sodomy or mutilation,
face the penalty of reclusidn per-
petua and a P3-million fine.
Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Ro-
ddguez recently filed House Bill
4922 that seeks to dedare hazing
a heinous crime.
In his explanatory note, Ro-
driguez cited the more than 30
hazing-related deaths that have
been recorded since 1954.
"These 30 deaths are senseless
and should have never happened.
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The victims had bright futures
ahead of them. However, due to
barbaric 'traditions,' lives were un-
necessarily taken," he said.
"These deaths due to hazing
should be considered heinous for
being grievous, odious and hate-
ful offenses and which, by reason
of their inherent or manifest
wickedness, viciousness, atrocity
and pewersity are repugnant and
outrageous to the common stan-
dards and norms of decency and
morality in a just, civilized, and
ordered society, " Rodriguez added.
'Problem of
mindset'
Groups in UP, such as the UP
Sigma Rho Fraternity and the Up-
silon Sigma Phi Fraterniry were
among those tiat received public
backlash in the past, following the
involvement of its members in
"fraternity-related violence. "
15, 2019
The first reported hazing death in
thecountrywas of Upsilont neophlte
member Gonzalo Albm in 1 954.
Carla May Bautista, a UP alum-
nus, said part of the problem is
the mindset that has long been
embedded in the culture of fia-
temities
- that brotherhood is
an impoftant investment to one's
success and security.
"l know hazing happens. Toler-
ated? How do you kill a mindset
thatmakesyoung men believe that
they will be more successful in the
future if they join a fratemity in
college? They enter into fratemi-
ties knowing fully well that they
will be hazed," said Bautista, who
recently lost a liiend linked to a
hazing controversy.
"We do have the Anti-Hazing
Law, but how do you implement
that unless one oftheir neophltes
will complain? Like vote-buying,
nobody gets penalized because if
a voter receives money from a can-
didate and reports, he too is liable
ofa crime. So, it proliferates," she
told The Times,
"The most successful alumni of
the university are all fratmpn
-
Marcos, Aquino, countless justices,
congressmen, and senators," she
noted, referring to former presi-
dent Ferdinand Marcos and late
former senator Benigno Aquino fr
President Rodrigo Duterte ad-
mitted that he, too, was hazed and
had to be hospitalized for three
days after joining the lex Talionis
Fraternitas when he was studying
in San Beda College ofLaw
He said the practice of hazing
could not totallv be removed unless ]
all fiatemities worrld be banned I
"Hindi mo talaga matatang-
gal lan (You can't eliminate it),
unless you ban fratemity for all
time. Make it a criminal offense
by joining a fratenity. But that
would raise so many constitutional
issues," he said.