4 fratmen in Quezon hazing now hiding–PNP

LUCENA CITY, Philippines—Four fraternity members believed to be responsible for the fatal hazing of a 20-year-old former student in Tagkawayan town, Quezon province, have gone into hiding, police said on Monday.

Senior Insp. Reynaldo Reyes, Tagkawayan police chief, said his men failed to find the suspects— all residents of the town—in their respective addresses. He declined to reveal their names pending the filing of criminal cases against them in court.

“They all went into hiding,” Reyes said in a phone interview on Monday.

The four were among the 11 alleged members of the Tau Gamma Phi fraternity who were behind the hazing of Ariel Inofre, a former information technology student of Southern Luzon State University in Tagkawayan, police said. Inofre died of kidney failure from serious physical injuries at Bicol Medical Center in Naga City on Sunday.

The victim had returned home on Oct. 17 with serious contusions on his thighs, Reyes said, quoting his parents. “They asked their son why he has contusions but their son refused to answer,” police said.

On Oct. 28, Inofre’s family brought him to the hospital when his condition worsened. Before he died on Nov. 2, Inofre had told his parents that he was a victim of brutal hazing rites conducted by Tau Gamma Phi in Barangay Mapulot in Tagkawayan, Reyes said.

The National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP), the largest and broadest alliance of more than 650 student councils in the country, sought justice for Inofre and condemned the continuing culture of hazing and other forms of violence on students and youths.

“NUSP reiterates its stand to end the culture of violence, hazing and impunity,” it said in a statement sent by John Clifford Sibayan, media liaison officer. It challenged all Greek-lettered student societies and organizations to “uphold the genuine call of camaraderie, unity and service to the students, youth and people.”

The enactment of Republic Act No. 8049, or the Anti-Hazing Law, in 1995 has not stopped the brutal initiation rites for fraternity recruits. Several bills have been pending in Congress, seeking to address the continued hazing practices on different campuses in the country.