Venturina slay case judge hailed

The Crusade Against Violence (CAV) said yesterday the ruling of Quezon City Judge Jose Catral Mendoza on the Venturina slay case has cast a "chilling effect" on fraternity-related violence on campus.

As this developed, leaders of the rival Scintilla Juris and Sigma Rho fraternities at the University of the Philippines (UP) Campus in Diliman forged an agreement to refrain from violence in the wake of Mendoza’s 83-page ruling, which convicted five Scintillans and acquitted five others for the murder of Sigma Rhoan Dennis Venturina on Dec. 8, 1994.

CAV national president Carina Agarao and founding member Gerarda Villa presented Judge Mendoza with a citation for his ‘deep sense of fairness and judge’ in handing down the verdict.

"Without doubt, this will enhance our campaign against campus violence," said the citation, which was read by the members of the group at the judge’s chamber early afternoon yesterday.

Agarao said this is true not only in the case of fraternities at the UP but also elsewhere. In his response, Mendoza said he was only performing his duty as a magistrate tasked by law to dispense justice.

Villa said fraternities have been given notice that those who engage in fraternity violence would not go unpunished. "It must be stressed that you have renewed our people’s confidence on the criminal justice system," the citation on Mendoza read.

Villa herself lost a son, Lenny, an Ateneo law student, to hazing rites conducted by the Aquila Legis fraternity. Her son’s case has remained controversial, with the Court of Appeals overturning a guilty verdict a regional trial court has rendered on the accused.

CAV has forged an agreement with the Education Department for an information campaign on fraternity violence to be carried out on campuses nationwide.