FINDING ANSWERS
In observance of National Hazing Prevention Week, all government agencies led by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) are supposed to actively participate in the “campaign to end hazing and other fraternity violence.”
Presidential Proclamation 907, series of 2020, designates the second week of February every year for such campaign. But a google search of last week’s activities shows no semblance of a government campaign, no official theme for this year’s observance.
Thus, it’s no wonder why hazing deaths persist despite enactment of a tough law with tough penalties. It’s a good thing though that last Wednesday’s Kapihan sa Manila Hotel focused on hazing, its deep-rooted culture, and the psychological and social factors behind it.
Kapihan guests were Brig. Gen. Ramon Flores, Cadet Commandant of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA); Dr. Imelda Virginia Villar, chairperson of PRC’s Continuing Professional Development Council of Psychology; Gerarda Villa, president of Crusade Against Violence; and Dexter Dormitorio, brother of Darwin Dormitorio, the PMA cadet who died from hazing in 2019.
At the forum, it was noted that despite passage of the Anti-Hazing Law, RA 8049, as amended by RA 11053, hazing continues to claim young lives. Schools nationwide have implemented bans and awareness programs, yet such efforts still fail to curb hazing.
“Siguro dapat magkaisa ang paaralan at mga magulang upang tuluyan nang matigil ang hazing (Perhaps schools and parents should unite to eradicate hazing). Involved dapat lahat sa usapin (Everyone should get involved on the issue)—parents, media, school,” Villa said in stressing the necessity of a collective response. Villa is the mother of Ateneo law student Lenny Villa who died at the hands of Aquila Legis Fraternity members. His killing in 1991 led to the enactment of RA 8049.
Dr. Villar explained that the appeal of fraternities lies in the sense of belonging offered to young recruits. “Pumapasok ang bata sa (The young join a fraternity to feel empowered, loved, and to have a sense of connection. We need to find ways to meet their goals without resorting to hazing,” she said. She suggested alternative initiation rites focused on community service rather than violent rituals.
“Kulang po sa information... Hindi naiintindihan ng estudyante at parents. Mag pursigi po tayo para tuluyan mawala ito. Dapat family ang mag-orient sa bata, but limited ang knowledge natin. Kailangan natin ng reinforcement (There’s scarcity of information… Students and parents don’t fully understand. Let’s intensify efforts to eliminate [hazing]. The family has to orient the youth, but with limited knowledge, we need reinforcement),” Dormitorio said as he advocated for better education and parental involvement in hazing prevention.
At the PMA where hazing has plagued the premier military institution in the past, there are ongoing reforms to eradicate the deadly tradition. “There’s no place for hazing in PMA. We are recipients of young adults from society, there’s a need to change the mindset and culture, and we need to start from our families,” Gen. Flores said.
Among PMA’s reforms are strict enforcement of the Anti-Hazing Law, segregating first-year cadets from upperclassmen to prevent abusive hierarchies, enhancing mentorship programs involving families and tactical officers to instill proper values, and increased monitoring and stricter supervision to ensure a safe training environment.
The Kapihan forum drove home the point that real positive change must begin within families, schools, and organizations, as tough laws alone cannot eradicate hazing. Indeed, parents and school authorities must inculcate in the youth the evils of hazing and the deadly collision of sadistic tendencies and masochistic instincts that often arise during initiation rites.
And the recent National Hazing Prevention Week was an opportune time for a massive information drive to forewarn the youth and tell them how to avoid being victims of initiation violence.
The Anti-Hazing Law “mandates schools to implement information dissemination campaigns to provide adequate knowledge to students and their parents or guardians regarding the consequences of conducting and participating in hazing.”
Unfortunately, hazing persists. “To address the continuous occurrence, as well as the dire consequences of this act of violence, there is a need for the active participation of various government agencies, as well as the private sector and non-government organizations, to increase awareness of the importance and value of hazing prevention,” Proclamation 907 stated.
In the collaborative efforts to spread such awareness, Malacañang has directed CHED to “lead, coordinate and supervise the nationwide yearly observance of the National Hazing Prevention Week.”
“All other agencies and instrumentalities of the National Government, including government-owned or -controlled corporations and state universities and colleges, are hereby directed, and all local government units, as well as the private sector, relevant civil society organizations and professional groups, are hereby encouraged to actively participate and provide the necessary support and assistance to the CHED for the successful conduct of programs, projects and activities relative to the observance and celebration of the National Hazing Prevention Week,” Proclamation 907 said.
Hazing, which has caused so much anguish to parents of young victims robbed of their dreams, can end if potential killers in fraternities, who are also young, are constantly reminded of its dire consequences, of the physical, emotional and psychological effects of violent initiation rites. It is essential that CHED does its duty of ensuring the youth are made well aware of the evils of hazing. (finding.lina@yahoo.com)