Photo by Karl Sinfield via flickr creative commons
Fraternity violence has been a matter of national concern since the early 1990s. Not a few parents have lost their sons due to accidental death by hazing despite the passage of the Anti-Hazing Law. Today, 20 years later, even with the bereaved parents’ cries for justice, these senseless rituals persist in the name of “brotherhood”.
Through it all, it’s the victim’s parents who are most aggrieved. We look back at some of the most talked about hazing cases in the Philippines in recent years, and honor the victims’ parents fight for justice, amidst politics, their grief, anger, and devastation.
1. Aurelio Servando, father of Guillo Cesar Servando, who passed away on June 28, 2014:
(Photos from abs-cbnnews.com and inquirer.net)
“Goodbye for now, my handsome boy.
“There’s still the pain, especially every time I look at his picture, see his things. The pain comes back and you have to exert effort to hold your tears back.” (philstar.com)
“I would like to ask them: ‘Why did you have to inflict so much pain on my son? Did you ever control it? Did you ever stop and realize that instead of bringing him back to the condo, if you brought him to the hospital, he might be still alive today? I would like to ask them why,”
“And it’s in the hands of a bunch of animals who did not deserve to have control of my son’s life,” Aurelio said. (philstar.com)
The heartbreaking facts:
On the evening of June 28, 2014, Guillo Cesar Servando, 18, a second year Hotel and Restaurant Management student at the De La Salle College of St. Benilde (DLS-CSB), was found dead inside a condo unit.
Guillo, along with three other DLS-CSB students, had undergone initiation rites for the fraternity Tau Gamma Phi. According to John Paul Raval, one of the survivors, Servando was left for dead after several failed attempts of the fraternity members to revive him. Raval has also identified the fraternity members present during the initiation rites.
Watch the GMA News TV report here (warning: graphic content):
Case status: Investigations ongoing
As of July 4, Friday, Makati City Police Chief Superintendent Manuel Lucban explained that there was a delay in the filing of the cases because they had not yet gathered all the statements of the suspects and neophytes. (inquirer.net)
Main photo (blindfolded man) from democratandchronicle.com
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2. Mac Ferdie Marcos, father of Marc Andre Marcos, who passed away on July 30, 2012:
(Photos from interaksyon.com and newsinfo.inquirer.net)
“Sorry po at ganito ang justice system natin," Mac Ferdie Marcos said to Aurelio Servando.
The heartbreaking facts:
It was during the hazing rites of the fraternity Lex Leonum that Marc Andre Marcos, 21, a freshman law student at the San Beda College of Law, expired from hematoma in different parts of his body due to excessive physical trauma which resulted to organ failure.
Case status: Dismissed
In September 2013, the Cavite Regional Trial Court dismissed the case against the 10 members of Lex Leonum, much to Justice Secretary Leila De Lima’s dismay. The case was junked due to reported lack of evidence and probable cause. (philstar.com)
Watch the GMA News report from the program “State of the Nation” here:
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3. Lucito Reglos, father of Marvin Reglos, who passed away on February 19, 2012:
(Photos from gma new TV and thechanproject.wordpress.com)
“Mahirap ang buhay namin. Pilit ko lang na pinag-aaral para maging maganda ang buhay ng anak namin. Pero hindi pala magandang paaralan ang napasukan niya. Mga kriminal pala sila. Hindi sana pumapatay ng tao ang initiation nila (Our life is difficult. I strived to send my son to school so he would have a good life. But apparently, he had not gone to a good school. I now know that they’re criminals. If only they didn’t kill people during their initiation rites).” (gmanetwork.com)
The heartbreaking facts:
Lucito Reglos, a farmer, tends fields in Isabela, while his wife, Myrna, works as an OFW in South Korea so they could send their children to school.
On February 19, 2012, Marvin Reglos, 25, a freshman law student at San Beda College, was rushed to a medical center after undergoing initiation rites in a resort in Antipolo for the Lambda Rho fraternity. He was declared dead on arrival.
Watch a news report from GMA News here:
Case status: Settled amicably
As of October 2013, Marvin’s parents have reportedly reached an amicable settlement with the suspects. (abs-cbnnews.com)
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4. Nimfa Abracias, mother of Chester Paulo Abracias, who passed away on August 7, 2008:
“He was so young. Why did they beat him to death in that senseless initiation? That’s not brotherhood. They are killers. They killed him.
“I don’t want to see him lying dead. I want to remember him just like the way I knew him, a good son and a loving brother to his siblings.”
The heartbreaking facts:
On August 7, 2008, Chester Paulo Abracias, 18, a sophomore Marine Technology student at Envarga University, had succumbed to injuries after taking part in the initiation rites for the fraternity Tau Gamma Phi. His dead body was found wrapped in banana leaves and a blanket at a coconut plantation in Tayabas, Quezon.
Case status:
In August 2013, one of the accused sorority members, Devie Ann Isaga Fuertes, pushed for the Supreme Court (SC) to declare certain provisions under the Anti-Hazing Law as unconstitutional. Said Fuertes in her 16-page petition, sections 3 and 4 “would make every member of a sorority or fraternity as principal, for the acts of members thereof, even as they are mere members and may not have any clear and actual participation in the commission of a crime on the occasion of an initiation rite of the organization.” (abs-cbnnews.com) The SC took note of Fuertes’ petition (sunstar.com.ph).
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5. Gerarda Villa, mother of Leonardo “Lenny” Villa, who passed away on February 10, 1991:
(Photos from gma news TV and article.wn.com)
The heartbreaking facts:
On February 10, 1991, Lenny Villa, a first year law student at the Ateneo de Manila, died from multiple injuries after having undergone initiation rites for the fraternity Aquila Legis.
Case status: 19 acquitted, 5 convicted
In January 2002, the Court of Appeals acquitted 19 out of the 26 Aquila Legis fraternity members who were accused of killing Lenny (news.google.com/newspapers).
“It’s as if my son died all over again.
“After 11 years of fighting for justice, I am gifted with an acquittal. I am devastated. I am very, very devastated.”
“…my son Lenny as well as the other neophytes did not agree to be killed.
“It was short of saying that it’s okay to kill.”
Lenny Villa’s case was pivotal in paving the way for the Anti-Hazing Law, or Republic Act No. 8049, to be passed.
According to section 4 of the Anti-Hazing Law, “if the person subjected to hazing or other forms of initiation rites suffers any physical injury or dies as a result thereof, the officers and members of the fraternity, sorority or organization who actually participated in the infliction of physical harm shall be liable as principals.”
Penalty for those liable include life imprisonment, reclusion temporal—minimum to maximum period imprisonment (14 years, 8 months and 1 day to 17 years, 4 months and 1 day to 20 years), prison mayor—6 years and 1 day to 8 years), or prison correcional—4 years, 2 months and 1 day to 6 years).
In February 2012, 21 years after Lenny’s death, the Supreme Court found 5 members of Aquilia Legis guilty. However, since the Anti-Hazing Law had not yet been passed at the time of Villa’s death, the five members found guilty could not be subjected to lifetime imprisonment.
“Hindi ako masyadong happy; masyadong maiksi ang four months to four years, hindi ito magiging deterrent sa mga fraternities, kaya marami pang namamatay eh,” Gerarda Villa said in an interview with abs-cbnnews.com. ("I’m not too happy; four months to four years is too short a time. This will not deter fraternities, that’s why a lot are still dying.")
“Masyadong mahaba ang proseso, imagine, 21 years, sinong magulang ang makakahintay tulad ko? (The process is too long; imagine, 21 years, what parent could wait for as long as I did?)"
“Nagpapasalamat pa rin ako sa justice system dahil at least after 21 years, up to now naghintay kami dahil naniniwala pa rin kami sa justice system.” (I still thank the justice system because at least after 21 years, we have waited up to today, still believing in it.)
Watch the Unang Balita news report here:
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