BLOOD BROTHERS By Alexandra C.

Castro The case involves an ex ante situation in which a man driven by his own desire to join a society of men pledged to go through physically and psychologically strenuous admission rituals, just so he could enter the fraternity. - Artemio Villareal vs. People of the Philippines et al.1 In the beginning Ancient Greece during the Hellenic period has been known throughout history as an era of intellectual revolution that nurtured great thinkers such as Aristotle, Plato, Socrates and the like, whos ideas paved the way for the establishment of civil society as we know it. However, this was also a time during which frequent conflicts arose between the great city-states such as Sparta, Argos, Corinth, Thebes and Athens, in attempts to dominate one another. Therefore, it has been proffered that Hazing as a concept began in Ancient Greece2, where young men in the military were trained to endure pain, and their loyalties were tested through various challenges, which in turn equipped the young men to face the hazards of battle. Meanwhile, in Europe, knowledge of the Ancient Greeks way of life began to entice the young minds of intellectuals after the Crusades, who were drawn to the scientific concepts discovered by the Greeks, such as mathematics and physics, which helped painters and masons in their craft. However, the ancient Greek texts were viewed by the public as heretical, and anyone caught reading them were burned at the stake along with their books. This in turn spawned the birth of the Freemasons, a prominent society whose true history and origin to this day remain cloaked in secrecy3. During the Renaissance, as more and more people gained access to the Ancient Greek texts, a new age of scientific thought and philosophy spread far and wide throughout the known world4, even as far as the Philippines, where La Liga Filipinas was born, where Jose Rizals ideas were based on the confederation of ancient Greek states.5 Ang Kataas-taasan A neophyte is brought into a dark room lit by a single candle. There, he is asked a series of questions, oriented toward the aims of the brotherhood, then compelled to undergo ordeals to test his loyalty. At the end of these rites, the neophyte is brought to a table upon which lie a sheet of paper and a bolo. There, he swears an oath in the name of God and country to defend the aims of the brotherhood and signs his name in blood. - Ileto, Reynaldo, The Diorama Experience: A visual history of the Philippines The secret society named Kataastaasan Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (The Highest and Most Venerable Association of the Sons and Daughters of
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G.R. No. 151258/G.R. No. 154954/G.R. No. 155101/G.R. Nos. 178057 & G.R. No. 178080. (February 1, 2011). In re Khalil H., No. 08110, 2010 WL 4540458 (N.Y. App. Div. Nov. 9, 2010) (U.S.) [citing Kuzmich, Comment, In Vino Mortuus: Fraternal Hazing and Alcohol-Related Deaths, 31 MCGEORGE L REV. 1087, 1088-1089 (2000); and SYMPOSIUM, THE WORKS OF PLATO (THE MODERN LIBRARY 1956)]; Gregory E. Rutledge, Hell Night Hath No Fury Like a Pledge Scorned ... and Injured: Hazing Litigation in U.S. Colleges and Universities , 25 J.C. & U.L. 361, 368-9 (1998); Kendrick, 24 AM. J. TRIAL ADVOC. 3 Llaneta, Celeste A.C., What is the Legacy of Greek-letter Societies?, UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES THE FORUM, Vol. 12 Issue 6 (Nov.-Dec. 2011). 4 Supra note 2 at 2. 5 Domingo, A.F., For what reason do fraternities exist and should they continue to exist?, available at: http://albertdomingo.com/upsilon/, last accessed: 06 March 2012, and; REYNALDO C. ILETO, THE DIORAMA EXPERIENCE: A VISUAL HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINES 84 (2004). And Supra note 2 at 2.

the Nation), known as the Katipunan, was a small confraternity of Filipinos led by Andres Bonifacio, who sought liberation from Spain. Inspired by the Freemasons, the groups ideology was drilled into each members heart through a secret initiation ritual. Some parts of the initiation included tests which included pagsuot sa lungga or pagtalon sa balon, and enduring blows of Ipangherong bakal sa pisngi, finally ending with the signature6 affixed in ones own blood. Of Greeks and Higher Learning The University of the Philippines was founded in 1908 by the US Colonial Government, and in the early years, was often like a virtual copy of their counterparts in the United States;7 and so, along with University life, the Greek fraternity system was soon assimilated on our shores as well. A decade after the establishment of the University, the one of the first Greek-letter society, Upsilon Sigma Phi (the University Students Fraternity) was born8. True to their American and European counterparts, secret rites were undertaken; which included the use of wooden walking sticks or canes on applicants or neophytes.9 However, it seemed hazing at that time wasnt as violent as they are now. Fashion designer Pitoy Moreno of Upsilon, recounts his initiation rites, wherein the pledge master brought them to the Ideal movie theater in Avenida, to watch the film The Unfinished Dance. He recounts: After the movie, when the curtain came down over the screen, our master told us to climb up onstage, announce to the audience Ladies and gentlemen, we will finish the unfinished dance! and perform ballet moves. We were chased off by the security guard.10 Atty. Ernesto Castaeda meanwhile, Upsilons oldest member at 97, remembers how he became one of the protectors of former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, I was the one who hid him under a car when some of the Brods wanted to beat him up. As a neophyte, Marcos performed menial tasks, like shining the shoes of the senior members, and running their errands. But even before the Second World War, physicality was already part of the initiation rites. Castaeda recounts: one of the ones I remember most was when we had a very tall neophyte, Bernabe Gorospe, who later on became a Justice of the Court of Appeals; during the scheduled time when the members could punch and hit the neophytes, he was accidentally kicked in the groin by a member of the football team, which caused him to buckle in pain. Why would you let someone beat you up then call him a brother? A majority of organizations have some form of application process or rite of passage for new members, some of which run the gamut of tests of physical endurance, mental tenacity and public humiliation.11 Meanwhile secret societies such as the Freemasons, due to their clandestine nature, have always had initiation rites, designed to protect and preserve the teachings of their society, as well as the sheer necessity of having to be able to trust each of its members. [The initiation rites of a group] boils down to this: You should be prepared to die so that others within the community will not die, says Agerico de Villa, an Associate Professor of the UP Department of Philosophy. He goes on to add that: Trust in your brothers, something an initiation rite is supposed to instill, can spell the difference between life and death.12 The Supreme Court, remarking upon Hazing, has characterized it thus:

6 7 8

REYNALDO C. ILETO, THE DIORAMA EXPERIENCE: A VISUAL HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINES 84 (2004). Teodoro, Luis, Barbarians, UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES THE FORUM, Vol. 8 Issue 6 (Nov.-Dec. 2007). Supra note 5 at 3. 9 Id. 10 Supra note 3 at 4. 11 Panao, Alicor, Fraternities: An Irrelevance and a Disservice, UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES THE FORUM, Vol. 8 Issue 6 (Nov.-Dec. 2007). 12 Supra note 3 at 3,4.

 the purported raison dtre behind hazing practices is the proverbial birth by fire, through which the pledge who has successfully withstood the hazing proves his or her worth. Some organizations even believe that hazing is the path to enlightenment. It is said that this process enables the organization to establish unity among the pledges and, hence, reinforces and ensures the future of the organization.13 However, the circumstances surrounding the birth of societies and brotherhoods such as the Freemasons and similarly, the KKK, required the identity of its members to be shrouded in secrecy upon pain of death. With our Constitution protecting the Freedom of Association, and the spate of deaths needlessly claiming so many potential leaders of the future, is hazing still a necessary part of fraternity and brotherhood, or has its necessity run its course? The Ignorance of Youth During the second half of the last century, the lure of being affiliated has ceased to be for the attainment of intellectual enlightenment, or to be able to fight for ones freedom. Neither does it seem to be about prestige and exclusivity, where in the early years, Greek-letter societies were special organizations of either the bright or the privileged. Nowadays, due to the prevalence of violence and hazing-related casualties, the word fraternity is soaked in blood. The Anti-Hazing Law In the 1990s the hazing-related deaths of Lenny Villa, Frederick Cahiyang, Raul Camaligan, Felipe Narne, Dennis Cenedoza, Joselito Mangga and Joselito Hernandez spurred the legislature into promulgating The Anti-Hazing Law of the Philippines.14 Under the law, Hazing and Initiation (used interchangeably), has been defined as: An initiation rite or practice as a prerequisite for admission into membership in a fraternity, sorority or organization by placing the recruit, neophyte or applicant in some embarrassing or humiliating situations such as forcing him to do menial, silly, foolish and other similar tasks or activities or otherwise subjecting him to physical or psychological suffering or injury.15 (Emphasis Supplied) The Anti Hazing Law was intended as a measure to discourage members from making hazing a requirement for joining their sorority, fraternity, organization or association, by making the mere act of hazing a mala prohibita offense, which does not require the presence of dolo, or malicious intent to cause injury to another, as an essential element to its commission.16 Another feature of the law is that the element of consent of the victim cannot exculpate the malefactors, for as noted in the discussions of the framers of the law: that is one thing that we would want to prohibit. That the defense of consent will not apply because the very act of inflicting physical pain or psychological suffering is, by itself, a punishable act. The result of the act of hazing, like death or physical injuries merely

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Villareal vs. People et al., G.R. No. 151258/G.R. No. 154954/G.R. No. 155101/G.R. Nos. 178057 & G.R. No. 178080. (February 1, 2011). 14 REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8049 An Act Regulating Hazing And Other Forms Of Initiation Rites In Fraternities, Sororities, And Other Organizations And Providing Penalties Therefor [THE ANTI-HAZING LAW ] (1995). 15 Supra note 14 at 1. 16 ] Senate Transcript of Session Proceedings No. 62 (14 December 1992) 9th Congress, 1st Regular Sess. at 15 [hereinafter Senate TSP No. 62].

aggravates the act with higher penalties. But the defense of consent is not going to nullify the criminal nature of the act.17 Therefore persons charged under the Special Penal Law are not entitled to the mitigating circumstance of not intending to commit so grave a wrong. Also noteworthy is that the mere presence of any person during the hazing is prima facie evidence of his principal participation, unless he prevents the same. If the hazing is at the home of an officer or member, his parents shall also be held liable as principals when they are aware of the hazing being conducted. Likewise, akin to the Revised Penal Code definition of conspiracy, where the act of one is the act of all the officers, former officers, or alumni of the organization who planned the hazing shall be liable as principals even if they are not present during the act. Is it working? The bottom line of this law is that a citizen even has to be protected from himself if he joins a fraternity, so that at a certain point in time, the State, the individual, or the parents of the victim can run after the perpetrators of the crime, regardless of whether or not there was consent on the part of the victim. - Senator Jose Lina, sponsor of R.A. 8049 In the year 2007, Ramon Magsaysay awardee for government service Jovito Salonga resigned from the Sigma Rho fraternity over rumors that his fraternity brothers were responsible for the death of 20-year old student Cris Mendez. Another alumnus, Senator Juan Ponce-Enrile likewise called the resident brothers trainors of thugs and killers, after the aforementioned death. But the special law, and the words of their elders seems to have done little to remedy the culture of violence at the hands of peers, with more young men, such as Dennis Venturina, Nio Calinao, Alex Icasiano, Den Reyes, Marlon Villanueva, Cris Mendez and most recently, Marvin Reglos, dying due to hazing-related injuries. Moreover, it bears noting that since the passage of the Anti-Hazing Law, not one conviction has been obtained. The Supreme Court, in its final resolution on the death of Ateneo de Manila Student Lenny Villa18, noted that the current law does not take into consideration the implication of the presence of alumni during the initiation rites. Neither does the law address the possibility of members being in a state of intoxication as an aggravating offense. Both were submitted by the Court to Congress for legislative consideration. Also under consideration is House Bill 2188, filed by Kabataan party-list representative Raymond Palatino, which seeks a probe on the circumstances behind the 2012 death of Reglos, and a review of the Anti-Hazing Law, as well as a proposal by Senator Vicente Sotto, seeking to raise the penalty for deaths caused by hazing to life imprisonment.

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Supra note 15; Rollo p.147. Villareal vs. People et al., G.R. No. 151258/G.R. No. 154954/G.R. No. 155101/G.R. Nos. 178057 & G.R. No. 178080. (February 1, 2011).