CA junks plea of 4 frat men in hazing case

MANILA, Philippines – The Court of Appeals (CA) has dismissed the appeal of four Sigma Rho fraternity members seeking to stop the administrative proceedings against them for their alleged involvement in the fatal hazing of University of the Philippines (UP) student Chris Anthony Mendez in 2007.

In a six-page resolution promulgated on Sept. 27, the appellate court’s 10th Division denied the motion for reconsideration filed by Ariel Paolo Ante, Marcelino Veloso  III, Keefee de la Cruz and Armand Lorenze Sapital.

The CA affirmed its decision in October last year giving the UP Student Disciplinary Tribunal  (UP-SDT) the green light to pursue its administrative proceedings against the petitioners.

In their appeal, the petitioners said their right to due process was violated when the preliminary inquiries were conducted by the university prosecutor and not by a member of the UP-SDT. 

The CA rejected the petitioners’ argument.

The appellate court explained that despite the preliminary inquiries’ similarity to preliminary investigation in criminal cases, the case before the UP-SDT remained administrative in nature and therefore not subject to the requirements of criminal due process. 

“The preliminary inquiry and the formal charges herein are but components of the investigative and disciplinary action an academic university is mandated to take against its students suspected of being engaged in hazing activities,” the CA ruling penned by Associate Justice Zenaida Galapate-Laguiles read.

The petitioners were among the 13 UP students tagged in the death  of Mendez in August 2007.

The university has filed administrative charges against them.