Hazing kills another San Beda law student

BARBARIC BROTHERHOOD Photo of Marc Andrei Marcos, 21, posted in the Twitter account of his sister. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

The dreams of a freshman law student of San Beda College abruptly, violently ended on a farm in Dasmariñas City.

Mark Andrei Marcos was the latest fatality in an apparent case of fraternity hazing.

Police said the bruised body of  Marcos, 21, was brought to De La Salle University Medical Center in Dasmariñas City, Cavite province, at 10:30 p.m. on Sunday by two women— identified as Marlen Guadayo and Soledad Sanda—and two unidentified men. Marcos was pronounced dead on Monday.

Senior Superintendent John Bulalacao, Cavite provincial police director, said his men were looking for Gian Angelo C. Velus, a resident of Lt. Cantimbuhan Street, Barangay (village) Zone 3, Dasmariñas City, to shed light on the death of Marcos five months after another San Beda law student, Marvin Reglos, succumbed to injuries in a fraternity hazing incident.

While the police said that Velus, described as a senior law student in San Beda, was not yet a suspect, the hazing ostensibly happened in his family’s 5-hectare farm in Dasmariñas City.

Cooks from the farm

The women who took Marcos to the hospital were identified by police as cooks in the Velus farm. The women gave statements to police and were later released, but the two men who helped them bring Marcos to the hospital in a car disappeared after Marcos was admitted.

Bulalacao said an investigation showed that Marcos was “allegedly mauled by unidentified suspects” in the farm. He added that they were also looking for Sanda and Guadayo who “could no longer be found.”

Bulalacao said that Sanda had received a text message from Velus directing her to take Marcos to the hospital and telling her that he had informed police about Marcos.

“The women said they did not know the men they were with, but I doubt it,” Bulalacao said.

The Dasmariñas City police, in its initial report, tagged the case as a “mauling incident” for lack of witnesses who would claim that the victim died in hazing rites.

At noon Tuesday, Marcos’ body was taken to his hometown in Ramos, Tarlac province, according to his 16-year-old sister Katrina.

“We have accepted it already. All we want now is that justice be served,” she said. “He was kind and very protective. He said he took up law because he wanted to be a judge.”

Lex Leonum Fraternitas

Katrina said her brother—the second of four children—stayed with an aunt in Manila who informed the family about the tragedy. The aunt was reported to have said that Marcos had asked permission to go to Dasmariñas to work on a school project with classmates.

Katrina said friends had reported that Marcos was asking for advice about joining a fraternity in law school but the family had no idea which group that was.  Bulalacao identified the fraternity as Lex Leonum Fraternitas.

The San Beda Law Student Government on its Facebook page said it was coordinating with the school administration to find out which fraternity was behind the incident.

“Violence will never be tolerated by this law school. San Beda will fully cooperate with the investigation and rest assured that everything is being done to see that justice is served,” the student council said.

Council president Auvin Nieva said schoolmates described Marcos as “bright and popular.”

“He belonged to the top 10 of his class and was a good speaker,” Nieva said. “We are angry at what happened.”

The activist youth group Anakbayan condemned Marcos’ killing. “We call on the authorities and all concerned parties to swiftly and decisively act to bring to justice the perpetrators of this most heinous of crimes.” it said.