Is Hazing Totally Not Allowed in Anti-Hazing Law?

With the death of Guillo Cesar Servando, an 18-year-old student from De La Salle-College of St. Benilde, from injuries allegedly sustained during initiation rites by the Tau Gamma Phi fraternity, a lot of people are asking whether or not the State has the capacity to protect the victims from hazing.

A picture of hazing taken from bing images.

 

As of the moment, we have an Anti-Hazing Law or Republic Act Number 8049.  This law regulates hazing and other forms of initiation rites in fraternities, sororities, and other organizations and providing penalties therefor.

As defined in the Anti-Hazing Law, hazing is an initiation rite or practice as a prerequisite for admission into membership in a fraternity, sorority or organization.

Hazing involves 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.

So hazing is not only confined to subjecting the recruit, neophyte or applicant to physical or psychological suffering or injury but as well as embarrassing or humiliating him.

Hazing is not absolutely declared illegal or disallowed by law.  It is just only regulated and as a matter of fact, this law has provided how hazing is regulated.

Accordingly, 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.  The written notice shall  indicate the period of the initiation activities which shall not exceed three (3) days, shall include the names of those to be subjected to such activities, and shall further contain an undertaking that no physical violence be employed by anybody during such initiation rites.

So, hazing is still allowed provided the fraternity, sorority or organization shall do the following:

1.  A written notice to the school authorities or head of organization 7 days before the conduct of the initiation.

2.  The written notice shall indicate the period of initiation rites which shall not exceed 3 days.

3.  The written notice shall include the names of those to be subjected in hazing.

4.  Importantly, the written notice shall have an undertaking that no physical violence to be employed by anybody during such initiation rites.

After the written notice is submitted, the head of the school or organization or their representatives must assign at least 2 representatives of the school or organization, as the case may be, to be present during the initiation.

It is the duty of the representative to see to it that NO PHYSICAL HARM of any kind shall be inflicted upon a recruit, neophyte or applicant.

Any violation to NO PHYSICAL HARM shall be penalized accordingly.  The officers and members of the fraternity, sorority or organization who ACTUALLY participated in the infliction of physical harm shall be liable as principals.

They are liable for the penalty of:

1.  The penalty of reclusion perpetua (life imprisonment) if death, rape, sodomy or mutilation results therefrom.

2.  The penalty of reclusion temporal in its maximum period (17 years, 4 months and 1 day to 20 years) if in consequence of the hazing shall become insane, imbecile, impotent or blind.

3.  The penalty of reclusion temporal in its medium period (14 years, 8 months and 1 day to 17 years and 4 months) if in consequence of the hazing the victim shall have lost the use of speech or the power to hear or to smell, or shall have lost an eye, a hand, a foot, an arm or a leg or shall have lost the use of any such member shall have become incapacitated for the activity or work in which he was habitually engaged.

4.  The penalty of reclusion temporal in its minimum period (12 years and 1 day to 14 years and 8 months) if in consequence of the hazing the victim shall become deformed or shall have lost any other part of his body, or shall have lost the use thereof, or shall have been ill or incapacitated for the performance on the activity or work in which he was habitually engaged for a period of more than 90 days. 

5.  The penalty of prision mayor in its maximum period (10 years and 1 day to 12 years) if in consequence of the hazing the victim shall have been ill or incapacitated for the performance on the activity or work in which he was habitually engaged for a period of more than 30 days.

6.  The penalty of prision mayor in its medium period (8 years and 1 day to 10 years) if in consequence of the hazing the victim shall have been ill or incapacitated for the performance on the activity or work in which he was habitually engaged for a period of 10 days or more, or that the injury sustained shall require medical assistance for the same period.

7.  The penalty of prision mayor in its minimum period (6 years and 1 day to 8 years) if in consequence of the hazing the victim shall have been ill or incapacitated for the performance on the activity or work in which he was habitually engaged from 1 day to 9 days, or that the injury sustained shall require medical assistance for the same period.

8.  The penalty of prision correccional in its maximum period (4 years, 2 months and 1 day to 6 years) if in consequence of the hazing the victim sustained physical injuries which do not prevent him from engaging in his habitual activity or work nor require medical attendance.

So as to the question on whether or not the State has the capacity to protect the victim of hazing, the answer is yes.  Although, hazing is not totally disallowed but the conduct of which is being regulated. In fact, it is very clear in the Anti-Hazing Law that no infliction of physical harm nor violence to the neophyte or applicant.

But as to the implementation of the said law, that is another question.