Rains hamper frat death probe
Marc Andre Marcos CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
The unrelenting monsoon rains that inundated Metro Manila and neighboring provinces since Monday also affected the police investigation into the death of hazing victim Marc Andre Marcos, a police official said Thursday.
Senior Superintendent John Bulalacao, Cavite police director, said the policemen who were assigned to investigate the death of the SanBeda College freshman law student had been deployed to rescue and relief operations in flooded villages in the province.
He said the heavy rains during the past several days had caused creeks and rivers in Cavite to swell, swamping low-lying areas while worsening the effects of the high tide in coastal communities.
Rescue and relief
“Our investigation was hampered by the flooding because we could hardly move. My men were diverted to rescue and relief operations,” Bulalacao said in a phone interview.
However, he assured the victim’s relatives that the police would do their best to ensure the speedy resolution of the case.
“In fact, we have scheduled activities to be conducted to continue with our investigation of the hazing incident,” he said.
Bulalacao said Angelito “Itan” Veluz, who owns the 12-hectare farm in Dasmariñas City where Marcos was reportedly subjected to the initiation rites of the Lex Leonum Fraternitas, had yet to contact the police after he vowed to turn in his son Gian Angelo, member of the fraternity and principal suspect, last week.
“We are still focusing on Gian Angelo and the other members of his fraternity because they were identified as those involved in Marcos’ death,” Bulalacao said.
Gian Angelo Veluz, 27, a third-year law student at San Beda, had apparently gone into hiding after he and his family’s cooks, Soledad Sanda and Marlen Guadayo, were implicated in the incident.
A security guard at the De La Salle University Medical Center identified them as among those who rushed the victim to the hospital on the night of July 29.
Members included
Marcos, 21, a native of Ramos, Tarlac, died the following day due to severe physical injuries.
The police had since filed a murder case in relation to the antihazing law against Gian Angelo, Sanda and Guadayo at the Cavite prosecutor’s office.
Superintendent Romeo Desiderio, Cavite police spokesperson, said the elder Veluz and Lex Leonum members Cornelio Marcelo, a certain Mark, among others, would also be included as respondents in the amended complaint the police would be filing next week.
