The Anti-Hazing Act of 1995, officially designated as Republic Act No. 8049, is a Philippine law that regulates the acts of
hazing
Hazing (American English), initiation, beasting (British English), bastardisation (Australian English), ragging ( South Asian English) or deposition refers to any activity expected of someone in joining or participating in a group that humiliates ...
and other
initiation rites
A rite of passage is a ceremony or ritual of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter another. It involves a significant change of status in society. In cultural anthropology the term is the Anglicisation of ''rite ...
in
fraternities and sororities in the country. It prohibits and penalizes physical harm and violence in such practices.
Background
The Anti-Hazing Act was passed as a response to the death of Leonardo Villa in 1991. Villa died from multiple injuries when he underwent hazing rites by the
Aquila Legis
The Aquila Legis (.L.F.) is a Filipino fraternity based in the Ateneo de Manila School of Law. Founded in 1949, it was the first fraternity founded by students, and the first fraternity in the Philippines using Latin nomenclature, preceding a nu ...
, a fraternity of law students at the
Ateneo de Manila University
, mottoeng = Light in the Lord
, type = Private, research, non-profit, coeducational basic and higher education institution
, established = December 10, 1859
, religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Jesuits)
, academic_aff ...
. Two decades later in 2012, the
Supreme Court of the Philippines found five members of the fraternity guilty of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide. The Anti-Hazing Act couldn't be applied to the five since it was still yet to be enacted as law when Villa died.
Convictions
By 2017, only 1 conviction has been made under the Anti-Hazing Act which was in 2015 when two
Alpha Phi Omega
Alpha Phi Omega (), commonly known as APO, but also A-Phi-O and A-Phi-Q, is a coeducational service fraternity. It is the largest collegiate fraternity in the United States, with chapters at over 350 campuses, an active membership of over 25,0 ...
members were found guilty for the death of Marlon Villanueva, a
University of the Philippines Los Baños
The University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB; fil, Unibersidad ng Pilipinas Los Baños), also referred to as UP Los Baños or colloquially as Elbi (), is a public research university primarily located in the towns of Los Baños and Bay i ...
student, in 2006
Proposed amendments
Bills to amend the Anti-Hazing Act has been passed in both the Upper and Lower House. In 2016, Majority leader
Tito Sotto passed Senate Bill 223 which aims to impose the maximum penalty for violators under the influence of alcohol and illegal drugs as well as if a non-resident or alumni fraternity member present during the hazing rites.
[
Both ]Win Gatchalian
Sherwin Ting Gatchalian (born April 6, 1974), known as Win Gatchalian, is a Filipino politician and businessman serving as a Senator since 2016. A member of the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC), he previously served as the Representative of ...
's Senate Bill 199 and Bagong Henerasyon party-list representative Bernadette Herrera-Dy's House Bill 3467 seeks to ban all forms of hazing, only allowing initiation rites which do not inflict physical or psychological harm. Gatchalian's bill also proposes to impose stiffer penalties and fine to non-resident and intoxicated members involved in hazing, additional fine if hazing results to death, mutilation, rape, and sodomy,
and requiring schools to conduct awareness campaign on hazing.[
]
See also
*List of hazing deaths in the Philippines
This is a list of hazing-related deaths in the Philippines. This is not an exhaustive list. Inclusion in this list requires that the incident was described by the media as a hazing-related death. Majority of deaths in this list include but is not ...
References
{{reflist
1995 in the Philippines
Hazing
Philippine legislation