Makati police to file charges vs hazing suspects this week

MANILA, Philippines - The Makati City Police on Tuesday said it is confident enough to file within this week the case against those responsible in the fatal hazing of 18-year-old De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) student Guillo Servando last June 28.

Case investigator Senior Police Officer 1 Nilo Sadsad said they are just waiting for the third hazing victim – a minor who survived the initiation rites - to formally submit his sworn affidavit either to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) or the Makati City Police.

Sadsad had said that even though the NBI is conducting a parallel probe, the Makati police would be the one to file the case against the suspects for violation of the Anti-Hazing Law.

“We want this case to be really air-tight. For that, we need to have really solid evidence and statements from all the victims,” said Sadsad.

Earlier, Servando’s fellow neophytes in the Tau Gamma Phi fraternity – John Paul Raval and Lorenze Agustin – submitted their respective sworn affidavits to authorities. Their statements detail the events before, during and after the initiation rites that happened inside a house in Barangay Palanan in Makati City .

Makati police chief Senior Superintendent Manuel Lukban earlier said that he had met with the fathers of the five suspects. The meeting was arranged by a member of the Tau Gamma Phi fraternity, he said.

“They assured me that they want to apologize to the family of the victims and that they would be surrendering their children who were present during the hazing rites. They also told me that they would also convince the parents of the other suspects to do the same. Kung may makukulong rin naman, gusto nila makulong na lahat,” Lukban said.

Lukban said that he did not ask for the names of the fathers of the suspects so as not to drive them away. However, he believes the five men are indeed fathers of the suspects.

“We discussed about the consequences of their plan to surrender their children. They told me they would talk about it among themselves and at the same time, try to convince the parents of the other suspects to also surrender their children,” said Lukban.

Lukban said police are looking at about 13 suspects involved in the hazing which was held inside a house in Barangay Palanan last June 28. He said they are looking for the real identities of the suspects based on the statement of Raval.

In his statement to the Makati Police, Raval named at least 10 members of the Tau Gamma Phi fraternity as suspects.

Raval said he, Servando, Agustin and a certain Flores, who is a minor, met up with members of the Tau Gamma Phi-College of St. Benilde Chapter in a fastfood restaurant near the De La Salle University in Manila.

He said they stayed there from 12 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. before heading in a cab to the house at 4454 Calatagan Street in Barangay Palanan, where the initiation rites took place.

Raval said the initiation rites started around 6:00 p.m. and lasted until about 9:00 p.m. During the initiation rites, Raval, Flores, Agustin and Servando were subjected to severe mental and physical punishment.

Raval added that he and the other neophytes were hit and whipped on their legs by the fraternity members using belts and a wooden paddle.

Among the Tau Gamma Phi fraternity members identified by Raval were Cody Morales, the alleged head or Lord Grand Triskelion; Pope Bautista, Trex Garcia, Hans Tamaring, an alias Navoa, an alias Rey Jay, an alias Mike, an alias Kurt, an alias Louie, and an alias Emeng, who is allegedly the master initiator.

Raval said that after the intitiation rites, Tamaring and Garcia brought him and the three other neophytes to his condo unit at the One Archer's Place along Taft Avenue, Manila.

He said Garcia left them after a few attempts to revive Servando who passed out a few minutes after their arrival at the condo building. Raval said this left him and the two other neophytes to call Emergency 117 at past 9 p.m.

Investigators from the Manila Police District (MPD), meanwhile, have identified two alleged leaders of the Tau Gamma Phi fraternity and eight other suspects.

MPD probers earlier obtained the photographs of Morales and Bautista, who was later identified as the secretary of the fraternity’s DLSU chapter and the one who accompanied Servando and the other injured neophytes back to the condominium unit.

The other suspects were identified by the MPD as Anton Santiago, Don Castillo, Carl Loresca, Hans Tamaring, Trex Garcia, Stephen Peñano, and alias Emeng and an alias Vic.