Daily Serving of Legal Matters

 The whole country was stunned with the news involving a student of Adamson University believed to be a victim of hazing. The victim's name is John Matthew Salilig who went missing on February 18, 2023.  He attended the initiation rites of the Tau Gamma Phi (Triskelion) according to the Laguna Provincial Police Office.  The autopsy of victim's body showed that he died from "severe blunt force trauma to the lower extremities".  His body was bloated and in decomposition stage. Severe hematomas were noted on Salilig's body, particularly on his chest and thighs. What is hazing? As defined in Republic Act No. 11053 otherwise known as the "Anti-Hazing Act of 2018", hazing refers to any act that results in physical or psychological suffering, harm, or injury inflicted on a recruit, neophyte, applicant, or member as part of an initiation rite or practice made as a prerequisite for admission or a requirement for continuing membership in a fraternity, sorority, or...

As reported by Louis Bacani on July 8, 2014 in the website of the Philippine Star ( http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2014/07/08/1343862/proposed-servando-act-seeks-total-ban-frat-hazing ) , Valenzuela Representative Sherwin Gatchalian proposed a "Servando Act" in Congress which aims to ban totally hazing in a fraternity. A photo taken from website of the Philippine Star.  A police officer is shown here inspecting the paddles seized from the alleged members of a fraternity.        A Servando Act is a House Bill No. 4714 filed by Rep. Gatchalian that would replace the Anti-Hazing Law following the death of College of St. Benilde (CSB) student Guillo Cesar Servando.  In this connection, the proposed bill is named after Servando. Accordingly, this new bill would give more teeth to the present law regulating hazing. The current Anti-Hazing Law or Republic Act No. 8049 has been proven toothless in not only preventi...

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 physic...