AN ACT REGULATING HAZING AND OTHER

FORMS OF INITIATION RITES IN

FRATERNITIES, SORORITIES, AND OTHER
ORGANIZATIONS AND PROVIDING
PENALTIES THEREFOR

(Author: Former Senator Joey Lina)

Implemented in 1995
 Section 1
Hazing, as used in this Act, is 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.
the term“ organization” – shall include:

 any club;

 the Armed Forces of the Philippines;

 Philippine National Police;

 Philippine Military Academy; or

 officer and cadet corp of the Citizen’s

Military Training and Citizen’s Army Training.
 What shall not be considered as HAZING

for the purposes of this act?

 The physical, mental and psychological

testing and training procedure and practices
imposed by the AFP and PNP to their
prospective regular members to determine
and enhance physical, mental and
psychological fitness;
As approved by the Secretary of DND and
NAPOLCOM duly recommended by the AFP
Chief of Staff and the Director General of
PNP.
 Section 2
NO HAZING or INITIATION RITES in any form or
manner by a fraternity, sorority or organization
shall be allowed without prior written notice to
the school authorities or head of organization
seven (7) days before the conduct of such
initiation rites. The WRITTEN NOTICE shall:
 Indicate the period of the initiation activities
which shall not exceed three (3) days;

 Include the NAMES of those to be subjected

to such activities; and

 Contain an UNDERTAKING that no physical

violence be employed by anybody during
such initiation rites.
 Section 3
The head of the school or organization or
their representatives must assign at least
two (2) representatives of the school or
organization, as the case may be, to be
present during the initiation.
It is the DUTY of such representative to see to
it that no physical harm of any kind shall be
inflicted upon a recruit, neophyte or applicant.
 Section 4
If the person subjected to HAZING or other
forms of initiation rites suffers any physical
injury or dies as a result thereof, the officers
and members of the fraternity, sorority or
organization who actually participated in the
infliction of physical harm shall be LIABLE as
PRINCIPALS.
 The person or persons who
participated in the HAZING shall suffer:

1. If DEATH, RAPE, SODOMY or

MUTILATION results there from, the
penalty of reclusion perpetua (life
imprisonment) shall be imposed;
2. If in consequence the victim shall
become INSANE, IMBECILE, IMPOTENT
or BLIND, the penalty of reclusion
temporal in its maximum period (17 yrs, 4
mos & 1 day to 20 yrs) shall be imposed;
If in consequence the victim LOSES the
use of speech or of the power to hear or
to smell, loses an eye, a hand, a foot, an
arm or a leg or loses the use of any such
member and become incapacitated for
the activity or work in which he was
habitually engaged, the penalty of
reclusion temporal in its medium period
(14 yrs, 8 mos. & 1 day to 17 yrs & 4
mos.) shall be imposed;
4. If in consequence the victim becomes
deformed or loses any other part of his body, or
loses the use thereof, has been ill or
incapacitated for the performance on the activity
or work in which he was habitually engaged for
a period of more than ninety (90) days,
the penalty of reclusion temporal in its
minimum period (12 yrs & 1 day to 14 yrs
& 8 mos.) shall be imposed;
5.If in consequence the victim has been ill or
incapacitated for the performance on the activity
or work in which he was habitually engaged for
more than thirty (30) days, the penalty of prision
mayor in its maximum period (10 yrs & 1 day to 12
yrs), shall be imposed;
6. If in consequence the victim has been
ill or incapacitated for the performance
on the activity or work in which he was
habitually engaged for a period of ten
(10) days or more,
or that the injury sustained shall require
medical assistance for the same period,
the penalty of prision mayor in its
medium period (8 yrs & 1 day to 10 yrs)
shall be imposed;
7.If in consequence the victim has been ill or
incapacitated for the performance on the
activity or work in which he was habitually
engaged from one (1) to nine (9) days, or that
the injury sustained shall require medical
assistance for the same period,
the penalty of prision mayor in its
minimum period (6 yrs & 1 day to 8 yrs)
shall be imposed;
The responsible officials of the school or of
the police, military or citizen’s army training
organization, may impose the appropriate
administrative sanctions on the person or
persons charged under this provision EVEN
BEFORE THEIR CONVICTION.
The MAXIMUM PENALTY herein provided
shall be imposed in any of the following
instances:
a. when the recruitment is accompanied
by FORCE, VIOLENCE, THREAT,
INTIMIDATION or DECEIT on the person
of the recruit who refuses to join;
b. when the recruit, neophyte or applicant
initially consents to join but upon
learning that HAZING will be committed
on his person, is prevented from quitting;
c. when the recruit, neophyte or applicant having
undergone HAZING is prevented from reporting
the unlawful act to his parents or guardians, to
proper school authorities, or to the police
authorities, through force, violence, threat, or
intimidation;
d. when the HAZING is committed
outside of the school or institution; or

e. when the victim is below twelve (12)

years of age at the time of the HAZING.
 The OWNER of the place where HAZING is
conducted shall be LIABLE as an
ACCOMPLICE when:

 He has actual knowledge of the HAZING

conducted therein but FAILED to take any
action to prevent the same from occurring.
 If the HAZING is held in the HOME of
one of the officers or members of the
fraternity, group, or organization:
the PARENTS shall be held LIABLE as
PRINCIPALS when they have actual
knowledge of the HAZING conducted
therein but FAILED to take any action to
prevent the same from occurring.
The school authorities including faculty
members who consent to the HAZING or who
have actual knowledge thereof, but failed to
take any action to prevent the same from
occurring shall be punished as ACCOMPLICES
for the acts of HAZING committed by the
perpetrators.
 The OFFICERS, FORMER OFFICERS, or
ALUMNI of the organization, group, fraternity
or sorority who actually planned the HAZING
although not present when the acts
constituting the HAZING were committed shall
be LIABLE as PRINCIPALS.
 A fraternity or sorority’s ADVISER
who is present when the acts
constituting the HAZING were committed
and FAILED to take action to prevent the
same from occurring shall be LIABLE as
PRINCIPAL.
 The presence of any person during
the HAZING is prima facie evidence of
participation therein as PRINCIPAL
unless he prevented the commission of
the acts punishable therein.
 Any person charged under this
provision shall not be entitled to the
mitigating circumstance that there was
no intention to commit so grave a wrong.
 This section (Sec. 4) shall apply to the
president, manager, director or other
responsible officer of a corporation
engaged in hazing as a requirement for
employment in the manner provided herein.
 Section 5

If any provision or part of this Act is

declared invalid or unconstitutional, the
other parts or provisions thereof shall
remain valid and effective.
 Section 6

All laws, orders, rules or regulations

which are inconsistent with or contrary
to the provisions of this Act are hereby
amended or repealed accordingly.
 Section 7

This Act shall take effect fifteen (15)

calendar days after its publication in at
least two (2) national newspapers of
general circulation.
 Proposed amendments
Bills to amend the Anti-Hazing Act has been passed in both
the Upper and Lower House. In 2016, Majority leader Tito
Sotto passed Senate Bill 223 which aims to impose the
maximum penalty for violators under the influence of
alcohol and illegal drugs as well as if a non-resident or
alumni fraternity member present during the hazing rites.
Both Win Gatchalian's Senate Bill 199 and
Bagong Henerasyon party-list representative
Bernadette Herrera-Dy's House Bill 3467
seeks to ban all forms of hazing, only
allowing initiation rites which do not inflict
physical or psychological harm.
Anti-Hazing Act of 2018 or Republic
Act No. 11053

completely prohibiting hazing and imposing

harsher penalties on organizers and
participants of hazing.
Bagong Henerasyon Party- List Rep.
Bernadette Herrera Dy, chair of the Public
Information Committee , was the major
author of the measure in the House of
Representatives.
The law is an amendment of the Anti-Hazing Act of
1995 or Republic Act No. 8049 which prohibited
hazing only when there is no prior written notice to
school authorities or the organization head.

It’s Section 3 explicitly bans hazing.

"All forms of hazing shall be prohibited in
fraternities, sororities, and organizations in
schools, including citizens' military training
and citizens' army training," it reads.

The prohibition covers even non-school-

based fraternities, sororities, and
organizations.
Organizations that wish to hold initiation rites, even if
they don't involve hazing, must apply with school
authorities in order to conduct them.

A written application must be submitted to school

authorities at most 7 days before the rites take place. It
must contain the place and date of the initiation rites,
the names of those to be initiated, and how the
initiation rites will go.
Two representatives of the school must be
present during the initiation rites to ensure no
hazing takes place.

The new law also introduces fines as part of

the penalties for those responsible for hazing.
If the hazing results in death, rape, sodomy,
or mutilation, those who planned and
participated in the hazing will suffer the
penalty of reclusion perpetua and a P3-
million fine.
Hazing that does not result in these harms would
mean the penalty of reclusion perpetua and a P2-
million fine for those who planned and joined the
hazing (including alumni and non-resident members
and those intoxicated during the hazing), officers of
the organization, and its adviser.
Those guilty of hazing are also not protected by
any waiver and consent form signed by the
neophyte or recruit. "Any form of approval,
consent or agreement, whether written or
otherwise" waiving any right to object to an
initiation rite that involves hazing is "void and
without any binding effect on the parties."
The signing of the Anti-Hazing Act comes
almost a year after the death by hazing
of Horacio "Atio" Castillo III. On September
17, 2017, Castillo was punched and paddled
for 4 hours until he fell unconscious and
died.