2 neophytes set to file raps in fatal hazing

LAGUNA, Philippines — Two neophytes are set to file criminal charges with the same offense against 18 fratmen in connection with the death of hazing victim John Matthew Salilig, a third year chemical engineering student of Adamson University.

Biñan City police chief Lt. Col. Virgilio Jopia yesterday identified the two rookie members of the Tau Gamma Phi fraternity as a certain alias Bin Laden and alias Lee, tagged as new complainants and also witnesses in the case.

Jopia said the two will appear before the police to file new criminal offense with the same violation of anti-hazing law act against 18 accused, including the six arrested earlier and the master initiator who was surrendered to the Cavite governor’s office, then turned over to the Cavite police director Col. Christopher Olazo recently.

“They’ll be the ones who will file the complaints, not us. We are now readying the case folder and assist them to file new criminal charges with the same offense against 18 accused, including the 11 fratmen who still remain at large,” Jopia told The STAR in a phone interview.

The police official said the case would be filed at the prosecutor’s office either today or in the coming days.

Jopia said the six arrested and the master initiator were charged earlier before the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Olazo said one of the three neophytes who was tagged as complainant and witness appeared to the Cavite police, but was immediately turned over with the police escort to Biñan authorities.

Meanwhile, Laguna police director Col. Randy Glenn Silvio urged at least seven more persons of interest to surrender and shed light into their alleged participation in the hazing incident.

“If we file the case and include their names, they will be implicated in this case, and they may be issued a warrant of arrest later on, and they will be treated as suspects,” Silvio said.

Immigration watchlist

Amid these developments, the Philippine National Police (PNP) coordinated with the DOJ as it sought to place the suspects in Salilig’s death on the immigration watchlist.

At a briefing yesterday, PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. said they have reached out to the DOJ to include the suspects on the list.

“We also have already coordinated with the DOJ to put the suspects on the watchlist, so that at least, the (Bureau of) Immigration will be alerted just in case these people try to flee the country,” Azurin told reporters in Filipino, as he mentioned that cases have already been filed against the suspects.

“We are just awaiting a resolution of the case if a warrant of arrest would be issued to the suspects, specifically on what happened in Biñan and Cavite,” he added.

At the same briefing, the PNP chief said fraternities should level up and leave hazing in the past, since “we are not in wartime anymore.”

“The organizations should think if they are still happy; do they find joy and happiness in hurting their members? We are not in wartime anymore,” he said. “So they should level up in terms of accepting members of the fraternity. They should remove the physical (hazing).”

A fraternity’s “code of silence” will not protect the suspects as long as they are found physically in a crime, according to Azurin.

“They may be a principal, they may be accessories (to the crime). So there is no such thing as a code of silence. Whether you talk or not, the mere fact they are there in that particular incident, they are all involved,” he said.

“If they will not talk, it would mean they are guilty, they have to defend themselves. There is no such thing as a code of silence… They should study if they are happy; do they feel proud to belong to an organization that kills?” he added.

Salilig was found dead with bruises on his body last month after missing for days.

Police earlier said Salilig supposedly underwent “welcoming rites” of the Tau Gamma Phi fraternity in a house in Biñan, Laguna.

No place in Catholic schools

Hazing has no place in Catholic education institutions, the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) said yesterday, following Salilig’s death during initiation rites of a fraternity.

In a statement, CEAP president Sr. Ma. Marissa Viri, RVM, underscored that their organization “stands firm against hazing and other initiation rites and violence.”

“We believe these acts have no place in our educational institutions and do not represent the gospel values of Catholic education,” she said.

“Such heinous acts not only endanger the lives of our students, but also go against our mission of promoting solidarity and transformative Catholic education for our learners,” she added. – Ralph Edwin Villanueva, Evelyn Macairan