Youth march against hazing

Aurelio Servando, father of hazing victim Guillo Cesar Servando, thanks students for joining the “Walk for Peace,” the kick-off program for the Manila City government’s antihazing campaign. NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines–Despite the bad weather, about 20,000 students turned up at the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park on Sunday morning to kick off a nationwide antihazing campaign and remember those who ended up being victims of some fraternities’ thirst for power and violence.

The students from different colleges and universities in Manila joined the “Walk for Peace: Youth against Violence” organized by the city’s youth welfare bureau.

Aside from urging the participants to shun fraternities with a history of violence and hazing, the program also paid tribute to at least 20 students who have died in hazing rites since 2001.

“I just want to make everybody realize that at least one or two students will die because of hazing every year. It could be your brother or friends. Their parents will never see them again and will never [know] what they could [have amounted to] had they grown up. Hazing has to stop,” said Angel Espiritu III, head of the Manila Youth Welfare and Development Bureau.

From the assembly point at Quirino Grandstand, students marched for 1.5 kilometers to the Bonifacio Shrine beside Manila City Hall notwithstanding the intermittent rains and strong winds.

Participants in the Manila City government’s nationwide campaign against hazing undergo a “spiritual cleansing” as they are hosed down by fire trucks using water blessed by running priest Fr. Robert Reyes. According to Reyes, he hopes the water will wash away the students’ and some fraternities’ thirst for power and violence. NATHANIEL R. MELICAN

At the shrine, 20 male students who were in shirts stained with red paint to represent blood stood, each one a stand-in for a student killed in hazing rites such as Guillo Servando of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, Marvin Reglos of San Beda and EJ Karl Intia of University of Makati.

Running priest Fr. Robert Reyes then prayed over 10 fire trucks surrounding the shrine to bless the water these were carrying.

The fire trucks then showered the students with the water to symbolize a “spiritual cleansing” which, Reyes and Espiritu explained, would hopefully wash away the students’ and fraternities’ thirst for power and violence.

“There are five Gs that we must have in us: Ginoo (which Reyes explained as a deeper Visayan word for God), Galang (respect), Galing (talent), Ganda (spiritual beauty), and Gilas (skill). Without God we become violent. Violent fraternities only have gilas which would make them just mayabang (boastful),” Reyes said.

“We need the water to cleanse our bodies, minds, hearts and our whole being, our source of strength and energy. May this water be used to cleanse us from violence within us,” he said in prayer.

Students, who still had umbrellas open after the rainy walk from the grandstand to the shrine, gradually surrendered and let themselves be soaked by the water from the huge hoses. The hosing ceremony lasted more than five minutes until the fire trucks’ tanks were empty.

Espiritu said the program was just the start of his bureau and the Manila City government’s antihazing advocacy. They will now tour schools, colleges and universities to further campaign against hazing.

“We will start first with schools here in the City of Manila before taking our campaign to other schools in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao,” he said. “As the capital city, we in Manila take it upon ourselves to start this campaign against violence and hazing and promote true brotherhood instead of the brand of brotherhood advertised by violent fraternities.”

Aurelio Servando, hazing victim Guillo’s father, was overwhelmed by the support of the students against hazing. “I hope this movement gathers steam and spreads through the country. Hopefully this will be a counterculture to the false brotherhood that hazing advocates,” he said.