Laws & Jurisprudence
ANTI‐HAZING LAW (R.A. 8049)
9:47 AM
Hazing 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
following are the allowed initiation rites?
1. Those
conducted by “organizations” which shall include any club or the AFP, PNP, PMA,
or officer and cadet corp of the Citizen's Military Training and CAT. The
physical, mental and psychological testing and training procedure and practices
to determine and enhance the physical, mental and psychological fitness of
prospective regular members of the AFP and the PNP as approved by the Secretary
of National Defense and the National Police Commission duly recommended by the
Chief of Staff, AFP and the Director General of the PNP.
2. Those
conducted by any fraternity, sorority or organization with prior written notice
to the school authorities or head of organization 7 days before the conduct of
such initiation.
The
following are liable as PRINCIPAL:
a. The
officers and members of the fraternity, sorority or organization who actually
participated in the infliction of physical harm.
b. The
parents of one of the officer or member of the fraternity, sorority or organization,
when they have actual knowledge of the hazing conducted in their home but
failed to take any action to prevent the same from occurring.
c. 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 hazing were committed.
It
should be noted that 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.
The
following are also liable as ACCOMPLICE:
a. The
owner of the place where the hazing is conducted, when he has actual knowledge
of the hazing conducted therein but failed to take any action to prevent the
same from occurring.
b. 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.
These
are the punishable acts:
1. Hazing
or initiation rites in any form or manner by a fraternity, sorority or
organization without prior written notice to the school authorities or head of
organization 7 days before the conduct of such initiation.
2. Infliction
of any physical violence during initiation rites
The
maximum penalty will be imposed in any of the following:
1. When
the recruitment is accompanied by force, violence, threat, intimidation or
deceit on the person of the recruit who refuses to join,
2. 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.
3. When
the recruit, neophyte or applicant having undergone hazing is prevented from
reporting the unlawful act to his parents or guardians, to the proper school
authorities, or to the police authorities, through force, violence, threat or
intimidation,
4. When
the hazing is committed outside of the school or institution
5. When
the victim is below 12 years of age at the time of the hazing.
Worst, 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.
The fraternal contract should not be signed in blood, celebrated with
pain, marred by injuries, and perpetrated through suffering. That is the
essence of Republic Act (R.A.) No. 8049 or the Anti-Hazing Law of 1995.
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In our contemporary society, hazing has been a nightmare of parents who
send their children to college or university. News of deaths and horrible
beatings primarily among college students due to hazing injuries continue to
haunt us. Horrid images of eggplant-like buttocks and thighs and pounded arms
and shoulders ofyoung men are depicted as a fervent warning to those who dare
undergo the hazing rites. The meaningless death of these promising students,
and the agony, cries and ordeal of their families, resonate through the very
core of our beings. But no matter how modem and sophisticated our society
becomes, these barbaric acts of initiation of fraternities, sororities and
other organizations continue to thrive, even within the elite grounds of the
academe. (DUNGO v. PEOPLE, G.R. No. 209464, July 01, 2015)
The author takes no responsibility for the validity, correctness and result of this work. The information provided is not a legal advice and it should not be used as a substitute for a competent legal advice from a licensed lawyer. See the disclaimer
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