Daily Star logoOpinions
Bacolod City, PhilippinesWednesday, February 29, 2012
Front Page
Negros Oriental
Star Business
Opinion
Sports
Police Beat
Star Life
People & Events
Eguide
Events
Schedules
Obituaries
Congratulations
Classified Ads
Startoon by Roy Aguilar
Opinion Columns
Twinkling with Ninfa R. Leonardia
TIGHT ROPE with Modesto Sa-onoy
From the Center with Rolly Espina
The Good Life with Eli F.J. Tajanlangit
 
 
Google
Web www.visayandailystar.com
Editorial

Give the hazing
law more teeth

Daily Star logo
Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.
NINFA R. LEONARDIA
Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ
Editor

GUILLERMO TEJIDA III
Desk Editor
PATRICK PANGILINAN
Busines Editor

NIDA A. BUENAFE

Sports Editor
RENE GENOVE
Bureau Chief, Dumaguete
MAJA P. DELY
Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA
Administrative Officer

We do not want to sound like a broken record, but, indeed, we need something more than just an apparently toothless law that seems to even have emboldened its objects ever since it was enacted.

The Anti-Hazing Law, or Republic Act 8048, was passed about 17 years ago in the hope of ending the vicious practice of college fraternities of holding hazing or initiation rites that involve cruel physical punishments on those aspiring to join them. The law was hailed upon its passage, especially by those who had experienced the extreme grief and loss of a son pummeled or beaten to death by the sadists he had hoped to become his “brothers”.

Events have since shown us that the law has not been effective at all, and, in fact, is even perceived to have worsened matters because many fraternities have gone underground, in a manner of speaking, as they no longer secure the accreditation of their colleges or universities to exist. In other words, many of them are now “colorum” ones, and do not have to get the blessings of their school officials to come up.

Could that, therefore, be the reason why initiation rites have been getting more savage and, in many cases, fatal? In some instance, school are blamed for the tragic incidents, but they can claim ignorance of the existence of fraternities in their campuses, since these no longer inform them of their presence.

Now another move is being taken to control the activities as well as the formation of fraternities. The proposal was made after the gruesome death of a law freshman, Marvin Reglos, that occurred shortly after the Supreme Court affirmed the sentences of five members of a law fraternity for the death of another would-be frat member, Lenny Villa.

Let us prod our solons to steps up their moves on the amendments to the ineffectual Anti-Hazing Law, and not wait for more Lenny Villas and Marvin Regloses. Let those frat men realize that they could end up, not practicing law or any other profession, but spending their most productive years in prison.*

Email: visayandailystar@yahoo.com