By Danilo P. Padua, PhD
More than a month after the unfortunate hazing incident resulting in the death of a University of Sto. Tomas student, Horacio Tomas Topacio “Atio” Castillo III, it is still raging. Hazing has been a part of initiation rites of neophytes before they could be admitted to the Greek-lettered fraternities/sororities.
There are about 30 hazing deaths, including a female neophyte, recorded from 2000 to the present in the country. Eleven others were noted earlier. It involved students from known schools such as Ateneo de Manila, San Sebastian College, PMA, PMMA, UP, FEU, San Beda, La Salle-St. Benilde, St. Therese College in Iloilo, University of the Visayas in Cebu, Araullo University in Cabanatuan, TUP, Lyceum of the Philippines, Univ. of Makati, UST and several other SUCs.
The case of Atio Castillo, then neophyte of Aegis Juris fraternity is the latest, occurring only last Sept. 17, 2017. It is appalling that at least 11 of the cases involved the fraternity, Tau Gamma Phi, based in different schools. Yet, the fraternity is still allowed to exist.
I am not sure if there were convictions of the guilty in the above incidents. One of the three cases at the Philippine Military Academy though had been resolved with the conviction of two upperclassmen.
Atio’s case became “international” when another country got into the picture. One of the suspects in the case, Ralph Trangia, flew to the US together with his mom immediately after the incident. They were tracked down and sent back to the Philippines by the US government.
At first I was incredulous that such one hazing incident, although certainly deplorable, was given too much attention in the press. Is it because those involved are prominent personalities? Is it because the politicians are again milking the incident for whatever media worth it offers? Or is it due to the possibility of pinning down an official who is entangled in another high profile case?
When I found out that there were already a great number of similar incidents in various reputable schools, I thought that the media attention given to it is justified regardless of other possibly incendiary motives.
Fraternities and sororities themselves are not bad, they are just put into bad light because of isolated incidents like death due to hazing. Such organizations provide a sense of belongingness, a sanctuary so to speak, a sort of family away from home. They are a big help in the overall development of a student. At least that is true to U.P. There is that inexplicable bond among brods (and sis) that exists even beyond school tenure.
The on-going reality drama on television about Atio’s case shows one of the downsides of fraternity/sorority life. Every member of the Aegis Juris , currently registered student or alumni, is woefully hiding the truth about the hazing death just to protect themselves and their organization. They are obviously doing that in the senate investigation, irking some senators and citing in contempt the present head of Aegis. The blatant cover up that members of the fraternity is doing is definitely casting an ill-repute to the legal profession.
It is an incorrect application of the right or wrong notion. Is it a part of their training as aspiring lawyers (because lawyers sometimes have to lie in court to get acquittal for their guilty clients?-pardon the innuendo). If that is so, I have to be very thankful. I used to dream of becoming a lawyer, that I started preparing myself for it during my fourth year high school days, by regularly visiting the courts of many prominent lawyers in Manila and Quezon City, including those of then Judges Manuel Pamaran and Onofre Villaluz. I even accumulated some law books from an uncle who was then the chief legal counsel of DAR. Instead, I got ensnared in the technical field of agriculture where lying to obtain a desired result is never the standard!
I must admit that I was also a fratman. Not just a regular member as I once became the head (Grand Archon) of the Sigma Rho fraternity in UPLB. The fraternity was brought there in 1957 by a member of the same fraternity in UP Diliman based at the College of Law. I experienced being paddled even by a sis from the sister sorority, Delta Lambda Sigma. And that was only a part of the hazing activities. It goes without saying that I underwent other forms of hazing which made me unable to walk normally for about two weeks..
Those experiences, coupled with my Christian beliefs, made me think very seriously about the relevance of physical hazing in order to become a full-pledge member of the fraternity. When I became the Grand Archon. I strongly insisted that we reduce hazing, which was enforced of course. I was roundly criticized by my alumni brods who told me: “You are destroying an age-old tradition that serves as a stronger glue of brotherhood”. They added that the tradition will make membership more worthy of remembering and relishing.
With due respect, I shot back: “What do you like, an eager but maimed brother admitted to the fraternity or an equally eager member who did not experience what we went through but who is whole, normal, and harboring no rancor towards any older member”?
During my term as a G.A., we experienced two cases where the then neophytes who had just undergone the final rites were either hospitalized or attended to by a doctor. One of them passed out while the other showed actual greying of all his fingertips indicating lack of oxygen. It scared the wits out of me but clearly justifying the need to reduce, or altogether expunge any physical “beating” although the neophyte voluntarily undergo such rigorous ritual.
Hazing, in its untamed state, should have no place even in a fraternity. For one, there is no medical examination that will attest to the physical fitness of an individual against hazing; only the grit and determination of the neophyte is there.
More than two decades ago, the hazing problem was addressed by the government through Republic Act 8049 or the Anti-hazing Law, signed by then Pres. Fidel Ramos in 1995. In Section 1of that law, it defined hazing as “an initiation rite or practice as a prerequisite for admission into membership in a fraternity, sorority or organization by placing the recruit, neophyte or applicant in some embarrassing or humiliating situations such as forcing him to do menial, silly, foolish and other similar tasks or activities, or otherwise subjecting him to physical or psychological suffering or injury.”
The absurdity of the said law is immediately apparent in Sections 2 and 3which stipulate that no hazing or initiation rites in any form or manner by a fraternity, sorority or organization shall be allowed without prior written notice to the school authorities or head of organization seven (7) days before the conduct of such initiation…and that the head of the school or organization or their representatives must assign at least two representatives to be present during the initiation.
The above are ridiculous provisions that one suspects, were designed to actually allow hazing. It is not really anti-hazing as the title of the law loudly proclaims. Imagine if there are 20 fraternities/sororities simultaneously having final initiation rites extending up to 2-3 o’clock in the morning! Can a school provide the manpower, or are there people who are willing to do such sacrificial work, such being not a part of the faculty/employee workload? It is a case of a hugely imperfect, hardly implementable law even if it contains deterrent provisions commensurate to related offenses. No wonder, it did not deter hazing.
A much better, practical recourse is for school authorities to redefine hazing, ban it and make a special rule that if any organization practices hazing as defined, all officers-present or absent during initiation rites-shall be accountable and liable. Make this as a requirement for recognition of student organizations. Instant expulsion from the school should be the penalty for violation of such rule. The proper criminal liabilities of all involved parties shall of course be left for the courts to decide. I think this could help safeguard the life and the future of concerned students.
Meanwhile, let us sit back and maybe enjoy the still unfolding reality drama complete with wand swinging by the media-thirsty senators and other personalities.
