Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Introduction
intended to harass, or done to inflict physical harm, is demeaning and downright in every person.
While it clothes man’s baser instincts with noble justifications, such as measuring a neophyte’s
preparedness, courage, commitment, and endurance in the organization, hazing has often been
the main cause of a potential member’s death. Yet it continues to be the norm among Greek letter
fraternities and sororities where the mental and physical scars incurred in the process are likened
to war wounds earned in the battlefield. Despite it being forbidden, the practice continues, with
the added thrill that it is done underground where fraternal relationships are supposedly
Although hazing in Greek-letter organizations is well known through high profile media
stories and legal cases, hazing is not limited to collegiate fraternities and sororities. Other student
organizations such athletic teams, spirit groups, marching bands, military groups, cultlike groups,
high school groups, and work groups also haze (Zacker, 2004).
sororities and military training establishments, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED)
issued Memo Number 4 series of 1995 imposing stiffer penalty upon student organization
members proved to commit hazing and other forms of violence in campus. It also mandated the
Higher Education Institutions (HEI) to assume full responsibility and the duty to monitor student
occurred after the death of Leonardo “Lenny” Villa in 1991. The demand exerted by public and
private educational institutions created a stream of political pressure to the 13th Congress of the
Philippines to put an end to the senseless killing by making it a priority legislative agenda. The
Congress through, Senator Joey Lina eventually enacted Republic Act 8049 also known as the
However, instead of decreasing the incidents of hazing, strangely, there had been an
increase in the recorded deaths by hazing in the country. This indicated that there was something
wrong with the law and its implementation, hence, this position paper.
1. Identify the rules and policies regarding student organizations of selected universities:
2. Review the identified rules and policies in relation to Republic Act No. 8049.
Hazing as a serious social problem must be properly regulated. Moreover this study will
determine the policy gaps between schools’ ordinance vis a vis RA 8049.
Little research has been conducted on topic of hazing in recent years, at least by legal
scholars. This is surprising given the persistent hazing incidents on college campuses and the
recent hazing deaths of individuals. Hence this study will add to the growing body of knowledge
This study is primary focus to the policies and rules concerning student organization of
selected universities namely, University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD), Ateneo de Manila
University (ADMU), De La Salle University- College of St. Benilde (DLSU- CSB), University
of Santo Tomas (UST), and Arellano University (AU). This study will also tackle Republic Act
No. 8049 or known as Anti- Hazing Law. The policies and rules each university were identified
This study will be aided by materials both published and unpublished. This chapter reviews
different literature from other studies. In addition, findings of other researchers in the same field
would provide a better foundation of the research. Moreover this paper will encompass different
University- College of St. Benilde, University of Santo Tomas, and Arellano University.
This study aims to identify the policies and rules of selected universities concerning to
their student organizations. Additionally, this research will review the identified policies and
rules relative to Republic Act No. 8049, otherwise known as the Anti- Hazing Law. The review
of related literature was divided into two parts: (1) Republic Act 8049 and (2) Policies of the
selected universities with regard to student organizations. As regards the former, a policy review
and discussion on the Anti-Hazing Law was presented. Also, cases that were convicted or
contemplated under this law was enumerated. While on the latter, focused discussion on the
policies of each university was be given. It was identified whether or not organizations, as in the
form of fraternities and/or sororities, were allowed to operate in their respective colleges wherein
if the answer is yes, guidelines to their creation and conditions for their maintenance were
presented. If not, penalties and/or punishments were identified to those who will be found out as
operating illegally or underground. Data on this part were primarily based on the latest student
A. Student Organizations
Before identifying and reviewing the policies and rules regarding student organizations of
each university, it is important to explain how student organizations become an issue in the
first place.
In section 19, Article VIII of Commission on Higher Education Memorandum No. 09, Series
of 2013, Student Organizations refer to, “the recognition/ accreditation, supervision and
monitoring of student groups including the evaluation of their activities (CHED, 2013). Article
VIII includes programs and activities designed for students to acquire or develop leadership
acquire or develop valued communication skills, enable them to learn from others who have
different ethnic backgrounds, and foster care and support for underprivileged populations among
organizations seem to provide students with different opportunities to get acquainted with
experience beyond the classroom curriculum. They create networking opportunities among
students with similar personal and professional interests and provide the probability of building
student organizations, students can maintain relationships with other individuals that have the
same professional interests; develop stronger mentoring relationships with their teachers; gain
ability to think critically, plan appropriately and make decisions (Hall, 2012) Students who
socialization and academic persistence that provide participants with resources to excel in their
academic environments (Flowers, 2004). Flowers further suggested that participants are likely to
continue towards achieving completing their degree as long as they remain committed to the
organization. The more students participate in student organizations, the more they are likely to
improve essential abilities that will be useful in the real world setting (Patterson, 2012).
However some studies have shown student organizations can have a negative effect on
organizations, athletic groups, and marching bands commonly are associated with hazing
activities (Garland, 2010). Social fraternities and sororities (commonly referred to as Greek
organizations) are a visible, yet often controversial, aspect of student life at many colleges and
universities. Some observers assert that these organizations are antithetical to the educational
In the study of John Zacker (2004), the existence of dangerous, unsanctioned rites of passage
the reason why hazing is a serious concern on different universities. According to Hollmann
(2002), more deaths have occurred since 1990 on campuses as a result of hazing, pledging, and
initiation accidents and fraternal alcohol-related incidents than throughout the rest of recorded
history of such deaths. Hollmann argued that, although fraternities and sororities received much
of the attention for hazing, athletic teams, spirit groups, marching bands, military groups, cultlike
groups, high school groups, and work groups also engage in hazing activities (Zacker, 2004).
While membership in a student organization is typically seen in a positive light, some may
wonder if the good outweighs the bad with respect to the potential risk of being hazed. Hazing is
universally known as an initiation process that includes aggressive and harmful actions upon new
members within Greek organizations, athletic teams and other types of clubs and activities
(Mercuro, Merritt, and Flumefredo, 2014) . While hazing practices vary within organizations,
there are some common hazing activities such as sleep deprivation, engaging in embarrassing
behavior, drinking excessive amounts of alcohol, verbal and physical abuse, and much more
(Cokley et al., 2001). These can impact a student negatively and hence it is important to be aware
B. History of Hazing
According to Nuwer (1999), hazing was documented first by the Greek philosopher Plato in
387 B.C. In addition, a later group known as the “Overturners” were involved with similar
hazings in the fourth century at the center of learning in Carthage. “[The hazers] were rightly
called Overturners, since they had themselves been first overturned and perverted, tricked by
those same devils who were secretly mocking them in the very acts by which they amused
themselves in mocking and making fools of others,” Augustine said (Nuwer, 1999, p. 93).
During the middle ages, students at medieval universities used hazing to demonstrate the
privileges of precedence more senior students held over first-year students (Nuwer, 1999). For
cases would be struck with wooden objects. In addition, more senior students engaged in a
practice called fagging, in which more senior students were entitled to require other students to
act as their servants. During this time, authorities, including educators, landlords, and town
officials, confronted hazing to different degrees, such as creating statutes against hazing,
publishing lists of specific acts that were considered hazing, and removing conferred honors
Bayan or the Katipunan is the first organization in the Philippines that has held an initiation rite
which has happened in 1892 (Nuwer, 2009). As narrated by Reynaldo (2004), during rites,
neophytes are brought into a dark room lighted by a single candle, where they are asked series of
questions, oriented towards the aims of their brotherhood, and compelled to undergo ordeals that
test their loyalty. At the end, neophytes are presented with a sheet of paper and a bolo, which
they use in reciting their oath in the name of God and the country; that they will defend the aims
of their brotherhood and sign their respective names with blood (Reynaldo, 2004).Meanwhile
Hazing rites within the campus can trace its roots in the then Philippine Constabulary Academy
now Philippine Military Academy even before the pre-war years (Zarco & Shoemaker, 2012).
However, as years passed, fraternities had started to forget to teach and uphold the goals
of their group thus, creating a distorted view in the public mind, where they are perceived as
those who are involved with street gangs and hazing (Nuwer, 2009).
In the present time, the usual invitation for joining fraternities/ sororities now includes: a
social network that would secure one’s future career, brotherhood, and connections (Nakpil,
2017). Fraternities and sororities have started to emerge in schools, where student members work
together to reduce the stresses which they experience in school. As written by Morgenthau
(1962), it is usual that men feel lonely and isolated. They attempt to break down this isolation by
building connections with other people with whom they could merge to form a new whole,
espousing a single motive and will (Morgenthau, 1962). Baumeister & Leary (1995), referred to
this as wanting to feel the sense of “belongingness”, it being a motivating factor for people in
their pursuing of their respective endeavors (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). Promised with the
same, fraternities and sororities have become monopolized by student organizations, with a huge
Considering the benefit of having more ‘brods’ to build connections with, different
fraternities have also had their own ways to entice students to join. They have formulated rituals
for the purposes of testing the loyalty of neophytes and protecting their brotherhood from the
undeserving aspirants. With the appearance of different fraternities upholding differing ideals,
rumbles and inter-fraternity wars have also made their places on the stage. This gravely affected
non-members by making them feel outraged and terrified, coupled with the information about
initiation rites which have become an instrumentality that crosses the boundary between life and
death, creating the perception that hazing is an act which violates every person’s right to life;
which in its essence is an act of the brutal or the insane (Nuwer, 2009).
To prevent the actions of hazing in any student organizations, RA 8049 was enacted to
regulate any initiation rites and to ensure that there no physical violence will be produced.
PENALTIES THEREFOR
Section 1. Hazing, as used in this Act, is an initiation rite or practice as a prerequisite for
menial, silly, foolish and other similar tasks or activities or otherwise subjecting him to physical
The term "organization" shall include any club or the Armed Forces of the Philippines,
Philippine National Police, Philippine Military Academy, or officer and cadet corp of the
Citizen's Military Training and Citizen's Army Training. The physical, mental and psychological
testing and training procedure and practices to determine and enhance the physical, mental and
psychological fitness of prospective regular members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and
the Philippine National Police as approved any the Secretary of National Defense and the
National Police Commission duly recommended by the Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of the
Philippines and the Director General of the Philippine National Police shall not be considered as
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
Sec. 3. The head of the school or organization or their representatives must assign at least two (2)
representatives of the school or organization, as the case may be, to be present during the
initiation. It is the duty of such representative to see to it that no physical harm of any kind shall
Sec. 4. 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. The person or persons who participated in the hazing shall suffer:
day to 20 years) if in consequence of the hazing the victim shall become insane, imbecile,
impotent or blind.
3. The penalty of reclusion temporal in its medium period (14 years, 8 months and one
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
4. The penalty of reclusion temporal in its minimum period (12 years and one 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
5. The penalty of prison mayor in its maximum period (10 years and one 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
6. The penalty of prison mayor in its medium period (8 years and one 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
ten (10) days or more, or that the injury sustained shall require medical assistance for the
same period.
7. The penalty of prison mayor in its minimum period (6 years and one 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 one (1) to
nine (9) days, or that the injury sustained shall require medical assistance for the same
period.
8. The penalty of prison correccional in its maximum period (4 years, 2 months and one
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.
The responsible officials of the school or of the police, military or citizen's army training
organization, may impose the appropriate administrative sanctions on the person or the
persons charged under this provision even before their conviction. The maximum penalty
(b) when the recruit, neophyte or applicant initially consents to join but upon
learning that hazing will be committed on his person, is prevented from quitting;
(c) when the recruit, neophyte or applicant having undergone hazing is prevented
from reporting the unlawful act to his parents or guardians, to the proper school
intimidation;
The owner of the place where hazing is conducted shall be liable as an accomplice, when
he has actual knowledge of the hazing conducted therein but failed to take any action to
prevent the same from occurring. If the hazing is held in the home of one of the officers
or members of the fraternity, group, or organization, the parents shall be held liable as
principals when they have actual knowledge of the hazing conducted therein but failed to
The school authorities including faculty members who consent to the hazing or who have
actual knowledge thereof, but failed to take any action to prevent the same from
occurring shall be punished as accomplices for the acts of hazing committed by the
perpetrators.
The officers, former officers, or alumni of the organization, group, fraternity or sorority
who actually planned the hazing although not present when the acts constituting the
hazing were committed shall be liable as principals. A fraternity or sorority's adviser who
is present when the acts constituting the hazing were committed and failed to take action
The presence of any person during the hazing is prima facie evidence of participation
therein as principal unless he prevented the commission of the acts punishable herein.
Any person charged under this provision shall not be entitled to the mitigating
herein.
Sec. 5. If any provision or part of this Act is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the other parts
Sec. 6. All laws, orders, rules or regulations which are inconsistent with or contrary to the
Sec. 7. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) calendar days after its publication in at least two (2)
The Republic Act 8049, widely known as the Anti-Hazing Law, was passed in 1995. It is a
legislative act that seeks to regulate initiation rites and to ensure that no physical harm shall be
employed to any recruit, neophyte or applicant. Hazing, as defined by the authors of the law, is
humiliating situations such as forcing him to do menial, silly, foolish and other similar tasks or
those of physical, mental, and psychological testing that are performed to determine and enhance
the physical, mental, and psychological faculties of prospective regular members. Organizations
are defined broadly by the law as to affect not only associations or clubs in the academe but also
among the Philippine Police, the Philippine Army, Training Academies, and even corporations
(2017), the law was passed as a result of the death of Leonardo “Lenny” Villa, an Ateneo law
student, who died from multiple injuries in his initiation rites organized by the Aquila Legis, a
fraternity of law students at the Ateneo Manila University. However, the RA 8049 cannot be
applied in the said case for the law was not yet enacted when Villa died.
The passing of the Anti-Hazing Law was also, in part, to address the impracticable and futile
charging of fraternity or sorority members for murder or physical injuries. When a parent or
guardian catches wind that their son or daughter is a victim of hazing, the natural course of
action would be for them to institute a criminal charge against the fraternity or sorority
responsible. However, the filing of a criminal charge for murder or physical injury would be met
with a swift dismissal or acquittal, for to be convicted of murder or physical injuries, intent must
be proven and commonly among the fraternity or sorority members, intent is not apparent
because they are performing mere rites of requirement to neophytes vying to gain entry in the
organization or association. To remedy this issue, the congress passed the first hazing penal
statute, characterizing hazing as a malum prohibitum, in order for disgruntled loved ones of
hazing victims to have recourse for the actions of the fraternity or sorority responsible.
RA 8049 provides in Section 4 thereof that “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”. It also provides penalties for a person or persons
who participated in the hazing according to the consequences of the hazing or physical injury
inflicted upon a recruit with an utmost penalty of reclusion perpetua if death, rape, sodomy or
Charging malefactors for the crime of hazing instead of murder results in not having to
investigate on the willful and deliberate intent to commit a wrong and making the mere
performance of hazing or other forms of initiation rite that would inflict harm criminal. This
gives the family of victims a remedy and a means for justice to succeed through an easier
conviction. Making the crime of hazing malum prohibitum also prevents organizations from
raising “work-around” defenses such as defense of consent by the victim or defense of lack of
intent. It also, as the intent of the frames would put it, deters future organizations and
associations from performing hazing or rites that would harm because the performance of such
would be penalized as if it was the crime that resulted from the hazing.
presence of a person shall be prima facie evidence of participation as principal”, meaning that
any person in the vicinity with knowledge of the hazing or is a witness to the actual hazing
would be considered in conspiracy, where the common design is to haze the victim, with those
who actually performed the hazing making them principals, unless they took steps to prevent the
It also states 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 implementation of the initiation. The said written
notice shall include the names of the people who shall be subjected to such activity. The head of
the school or organization or their representative are obliged to assign at least two representatives
of the school or organization to be present therein and to ensure no physical harm shall be
employed upon any recruit, neophyte or applicant during the initiation rites.
Since its inception in 1995, only one conviction under RA 8049 was recorded. This is the
case of Dandy L. Dungo and Gregorio A. Sibal of Alpha Phi Omega fraternity for the death of
Marlon Villanueva in their initiation rites in 2006. In this case, the Supreme Court explore the
efficiency of the Anti-Hazing Law in addressing the still rising casualties caused by mishaps in
hazing or initiation rites. In the case, the Supreme Court deduces that “whether or not a crime
involves moral turpitude is ultimately a question of fact and frequently depends on all the
circumstances surrounding the violation of the statute” (Lawphil, 2015).The Court also points
out that the law does not provide a penalty or sanction to fraternities, sororities or organizations
that fail to comply with the notice of requirements of Section 2, as well as an unclear liability
that arises from non-compliance of school and organization administrators under Section 3.
The court herein cites the law as “adequate to deter and prosecute hazing, but is far from
perfect.”
There was a conviction in the case of Dungo and Sibal vs. People. The court found that
“The unbroken chain of events laid down by the CA leaves us no other conclusion other than the
petitioners' participation in the hazing. They took part in the hazing and, together; with their
fellow fraternity officers and members, inflicted physical injuries to Villanueva as a requirement
of his initiation to: the fraternity. The physical injuries eventually took a toll on the body of the
University of the
1954 Gonzalo Albert Upsilon Sigma Phi
Philippines
University of the
1967 Ferdinand Tabtab Alpha Phi Omega
Philippines
San Sebastian
1976 Mel Honasan Beta Sigma
College
University of the
1984 Arbel Liwag Beta Sigma
Philippines
University of the
1995 Mark Roland Martin Epsilon Chi
Philippines
University of the
1998 Alexander Icasiano Apha Phi Beta
Philippines
UP Los Baños
2006 Marlon Villanueva Alpha Phi Omega
Pamantasan ng
Muntinlupa
Chester Paulo
2008 Tau Gamma Phi Enverga University
Abracias
Kapatiran Ng Mga
Menardo Clamucha
2010 Kabataang University of Iloilo
Jr.
Kriminolohiya
Alternative Learning
2010 Noel Borja Jr. Tau Gamma Phi
System (DepEd)
Notre Dame,
2011 Nor Silongan Tau Gamma Phi
Tacurong College
Lex Leonum
2012 Marc Andre Marcos San Beda College
Fraternitas
De La Salle – College
2014 Guillo Servando Tau Gamma Phi
of Saint Benilde
University of Sto.
2017 Horacio Castillo III Aegis Jvris
Tomas
The University of the Philippines Diliman, dubbed as the country’s premier state university,
is not at all alien to hazing incidents. The first reported hazing death was already after the
liberation. In 1954, UP student Gonzalo Mariano Albert of Upsilon Sigma Phi fraternity developed
stomach pain due to hazing which later resulted to his demise. Consequently, an investigation
committee was established consisting of UP professors Arturo Garcia and Vicente Lontok as well
as Secretary Fred Ruiz Castro. The probe of the said committee led to the exposition of the
“brutalities, indecencies, and barbarous practices” (Zarco & Shoemaker, 2012, p. 29) in the state
university under the guise of initiation rituals. Furthermore, administrative officials may know,
perhaps not in its entirety, about this student campus violence as it is often done in secrecy,
To prevent violence and hazing within the university, the school’s administration
Under Article IV of the 2012 Code of Conduct of UP Diliman is the Guidelines for Students
and Registered Student Organizations. It is mentioned there, particularly for those people who
belong to different fraternities and sororities, that students engaging into any acts described
under RA 8049 or the Anti-Hazing Law will likely result to a possible expulsion of the officers
of the organization and members involved in the act. Furthermore, the neophyte who allows
himself/ herself to be subjected to such rites and rituals shall be suspended for one (1) week to
Section IV.2 of the said article talks about the Acts of Misconducts and Corrective Measures
for Registered Student Organizations, also mentioned therein that should any student violate
the RA 8049 will result to the disqualification from registration of the said organization for at
least five (5) years, until conditions imposed by the disciplinary body are met. The officers of the
practices in UP. To date, there are thirty-six (36) hazing deaths in the country, six (6) of which are
Maisel, J. (1990). Social fraternities and sororities are not conducive to the
Rund
(Eds.), Addressing contemporary campus safety issues (pp. 11-23), New Directions
Cokley, K., Miller, K., Cunningham, D., Motoike, J., King, A., & Awad, G. (2001).
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/09/21/1740694/anti-hazing-law-22-ye
ars-1-conviction