Police foil suspected initiation rite; 27 teens rounded up

ILOILO CITY–At least 27 teenagers were apprehended by the police on Thursday on suspicion that they were about to hold initiation rites in Calinog town, 65.3 km north of this city.
But the 9 girls and 18 boys aged 16 to 17 denied that they were about to conduct hazing on the riverbank in Barangay (village) Carvasana in Calinog at 9 a.m. when they were rounded up by policemen.
The river lies on the boundary of Calinog and Lambunao. The police said there had been previous incidents that hazing was conducted on the riverbank.
PO1 Lona Jane Loraña of Lambunao police women and children’s protection desk said Jose Alcarde of Barangay Carvasana tipped off the Calinog police about the unusual number of teenagers on the riverbank.
The police then checked the tip and rounded up the teenagers. Since they were from Lambunao town, the Calinog police turned them over to Lambunao police.
The teenagers claimed that they didn’t belong to any fraternity or sorority and were in the river to bathe and not to hold initiation rites.
The police didn’t also find any paddle or long wood that are usually used in hazing.
The teenagers were later released to their parents who were advised to keep a tight watch on their children’s activities, Loraña said. IDL