Drums played till midnight at hazing site

THE RED-GATED house in Barangay Palanan, Makati City, allegedly served as the hazing site used by the Tau Gamma Phi fraternity for “welcoming” aspiring members. Authorities were led to the property on Wednesday following the death of alleged hazing victim Guillo Cesar Servando. NINO JESUS ORBETA and LYN RILLON

Was Guillo Cesar Servando beaten to death as drums drowned out his cries of pain?

Makati City residents living near the house said to be used by the Tau Gamma Phi fraternity for its initiation rites recalled hearing drumbeats on the night when the group allegedly put Servando and three other recruits through hours of severe beatings, an ordeal that eventually killed the college sophomore.

Four days after the student was found dead in the neighboring city of Manila, investigators finally got to the alleged crime scene: a two-story house at the corner of Kalatagan and Hilario streets in Barangay Palanan.

The property had trees painted with the fraternity’s symbol and, according to neighbors, served as a hangout for fraternity men, including students in uniform, who would park their cars outside.

The house reportedly belongs to one Merlyn Venus, who neighbors said would only visit the house about once a week.

Guillo Cesar Servando. NINO JESUS ORBETA and LYN RILLON

Authorities were led to the house by Jomar Pajarito, who surrendered to the Manila police on Tuesday claiming to be the caretaker of the property and also a Tau Gamma Phi member.

Earlier reports quoting Manila Police District spokesperson Chief Insp. Erwin Margarjo described Pajarito as a suspect, but Makati police chief Senior Supt. Manuel Lukban said he could not yet be considered as such pending a formal complaint from the victim’s camp.

Members of the Makati police arrived at the gates of the property around 10 a.m., followed by a team from the National Bureau of Investigation around noon.

Parallel investigation

An NBI officer, who refused to be named for lack of clearance to speak to the media, said Justice Secretary Leila de Lima had ordered the bureau to conduct an investigation parallel to that of the local police.

The Inquirer also learned that Aurelio Cesar Servando, the victim’s father, had personally sought the help of NBI Director Virgilio Mendez.

The police and NBI teams finally managed to enter the property around 4:30 p.m. after securing “permission’’ from the owner, according to Chief Insp. Jose Araz, Station 2 commander of the Makati police. “We have to make sure we do everything according to procedure.”

“We always hear loud drums particularly Fridays and on that Saturday night,’’ one of the neighbors said. “(The noise) usually lasts until midnight. We never thought that there was hazing going in inside.’’

Another neighbor said she started hearing the nightly drumming three years ago, and it always sounded “like they were having fun… like in a band practice.”

Servando’s remains were cremated Wednesday afternoon at Mother Teresa Crematorium in Caloocan City, after the final mass at the National Shrine of the Divine Child at La Salle Green Hills in Mandaluyong City, where the wake was held.

GRIEVING PARENTS Aurelio Cesar and Christine Servando arrive at the Mother Teresa Crematory in Caloocan City for their final moments with their son.

The 18-year-old “Servs’’ was found dead Saturday night inside a unit at One Archers Place condominium on Taft Avenue, Manila, along with three other injured students of De la Salle-College of St. Benilde.

The Manila police, which handled the case before the Makati City crime scene was found, said up to 11 Tau Gamma Phi members were being considered suspects.

In a TV interview before his son’s cremation, Aurelio, a businessman who hails from Bacolod City, described the younger Servando as a “very brave boy,” who wanted to join the Philippine Military Academy (PMA).

“But we prevented him because we knew that by joining PMA, there was a possibility of losing him early,” Aurelio said.

He said his son was probably “enticed” to join a fraternity because he “wanted to level-up his social life’’ and be associated with a group whose members appear to be affluent as they drive around in fancy cars.

“We were really surprised to know that he was joining (Tau Gamma Phi). None of us in the family is a fraternity member,” said one of Servando’s uncle in an interview at the wake. With a report from Inquirer.net