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The Sigma Rho Fraternity () is a
College of Law A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...
-based fraternity in the
University of the Philippines Diliman , image = University of The Philippines seal.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = Official Logo of UP Diliman , motto = Honor and Excellence , established = February 12, 194 ...
. Having been formally organized in 1938, it is the oldest law-based Greek-letter fraternity in
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. However, it has also expanded its membership base to include undergraduate students, including those studying for degrees in
engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
,
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, and
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. It is one of the three fraternities based in the College, the other two being
Alpha Phi Beta The Alpha Phi Beta Fraternity (also known as ΑΦΒ, Association of Philippine Barristers, or Abogado Para sa Bayan) is a fraternity based in the University of the Philippines College of Law with no recognized chapters outside University of the Ph ...
and Scintilla Juris. It is also part of Sigma Rho Philippines, an alliance of independent fraternities that were born of the same tradition, which has around 40,000 resident and alumni members from all over the country.


About

The two letters of the Greek alphabet are its emblems for the stature of its members as "Seekers of the Right". The Greek initials also stand for the initials of Sanchez Roman, a Spanish jurist whose scholarly commentaries on the
Civil Code of Spain The Civil Code of Spain ( es, Código Civil), formally the Royal Decree of 24 July 1889 ( es, Real Decreto de 24 de julio de 1889) is the law that regulates the major aspects of Spanish civil law. It is one of the last civil codes in Continental ...
were authoritative references used by the students of the UP College of Law. Members of the fraternity were called "Comrades", while the fraternity’s presiding officer was called "Grand Archon", which means Chief Magistrate in ancient Greece. The treasurer was referred to as the Custodian of Funds. Sigma Rho was founded by Charter Members Pacifico Agcaoili, Constantino Borja, Rodolpho Frayre, Joaquin Gonzales, Tiburcio V. Hilario, George V. McClure (an American Law student who was the first Grand Archon in 1939), Angel Medina, Carlos Ramos, Luciano Salazar (who later assisted Alexander SyCip in creating the law firm Sycip and Salazar), Antonio Moran Sison, Narceo Zambrano (who was the Grand Archon in 1940). The Charter Adviser was then professor and later
Court of Appeals A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...
Justice Magno Gatmaitan. The fundamental law of the fraternity is that "The word of the Grand Archon is Law". Its hierarchy of loyalty is the following: first is
God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
, second is
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, third is
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, fourth is the
University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...
, fifth is the
University of the Philippines College of Law The University of the Philippines College of Law (often referred to as UP Law) is the law school of the University of the Philippines Diliman. Formally established in 1911 in UP Manila, it is the third oldest continually-operating law school ...
, and sixth is Sigma Rho. Meanwhile, its vows are sacrifice, loyalty, obedience, and service.


Incidents

From 1991 to 1994, Sigma Rho was involved in a total of 32 reported violent incidents between fraternities in the UP campus. In 1994, Sigma Rho member and UP Law student Dennis Venturina died after seven Sigma Rho members were unexpectedly attacked inside the campus by the Scintilla Juris fraternity. While he was brought to the UP Infirmary by bystanders, he eventually died due to severe head injuries inflicted by lead pipes and baseball bats. In 2019, the five UP students convicted for the murder were released from prison. In 1999, UP student Niño Calinao was gunned down and killed inside the campus. Investigators suspected that Calinao was caught in the violence between Sigma Rho and Scintilla Juris, being mistaken for a member of the latter fraternity. Calinao was not a member of any fraternity. The same year, several Sigma Rho members were expelled by reason of mauling members of
Alpha Phi Beta The Alpha Phi Beta Fraternity (also known as ΑΦΒ, Association of Philippine Barristers, or Abogado Para sa Bayan) is a fraternity based in the University of the Philippines College of Law with no recognized chapters outside University of the Ph ...
. In 2000, several Sigma Rho members killed Den Daniel Reyes, a member of the Alpha Phi Beta, in front of UP Law Center. The Sigma Rho members allegedly took turns in stabbing and hacking Reyes with long knives. In 2008, the three students accused of ganging up on Reyes pleaded not guilty to the homicide charge. The same year, a Sigma Rho member was suspended for two years for being in possession of deadly weapons in the UP College of Law. In 2007, graduating UP student Cris Mendez allegedly died during an initiation with Sigma Rho. Former Senator
Jovito Salonga Jovito "Jovy" Reyes Salonga, KGCR (; June 22, 1920 – March 10, 2016) was a Filipino politician and lawyer, as well as a leading opposition leader during the regime of Ferdinand Marcos from the declaration of martial law in 1972 until the P ...
has resigned as member of the fraternity because of this incident. Former Senator
Juan Ponce Enrile Juan Valentin Furagganan Ponce Enrile Sr., (born Juanito Furagganan; February 14, 1924), also referred to by his initials JPE, or Manong Johnny, is a Filipino politician and lawyer known for his role in the administration of Philippine dicta ...
also labeled his fraternity brothers “trainor icof thugs and killers” and urged them to surrender those who are responsible for the death of Mendez. “I am calling on them to initiate the effort to ferret out the people responsible and kick them out of the fraternity and if necessary kick them out of school", Enrile added. In 2016, the Court of Appeals affirmed a decision allowing the preliminary inquiries conducted by the university prosecutor against students who were allegedly involved in the fatal hazing to proceed. In 2016, Sigma Rho was involved in a fight with Alpha Phi Beta during the UP Law Bar Operations. The next year, the fraternity was again involved in a series of altercations with Alpha Phi Beta for which the two fraternities reportedly kept score of attacks and retaliations. In 2019, a Sigma Rho member killed himself after an exposé on alleged conversations among Sigma Rho members, including photos of hazing rituals, hazing paraphernalia, hazing victims, and hateful content, was published online. Several organizations and public figures condemned the fraternity and demanded full accountability, including Delta Lambda Sigma – Sigma Rho's partner sorority. "Any man who attempts to degrade and bastardize our womanhood is no brother of ours,” the sorority said in a statement. Because of the incident, UP also placed members of Sigma Rho under preventive suspension pending formal charges.


Notable members


Executive and local government units

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Salvador Panelo Salvador "Sal" San Buenaventura Panelo (born September 23, 1946) is a Filipino lawyer who served as President Rodrigo Duterte's Chief Presidential Legal Counsel (2016–2021) and Presidential Spokesperson (2018–2020). He was also the legal a ...
- Chief Presidential Legal Counsel and Spokesperson of President
Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson ...
*
Hilario Davide III Hilario "Junjun" Perez Davide III (born August 25, 1964) is a Filipino politician and lawyer who is the incumbent vice governor of Cebu. He served as a governor of Cebu Province from 2013 to 2019. He is the son of former Chief Justice Hilario Da ...
- Governor of
Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...
*
Rafael M. Salas Rafael Montinola Salas (August 7, 1928 – March 4, 1987) was the first head of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). His tenure started at the agency's inception in 1969 and ended with his sudden death in 1987. Prior to accepting the UN ...
- Former Executive Secretary, Office of the President of the Philippines * Arthur Defensor Jr. - Governor of Iloilo * Arthur Defensor Sr. - Former Governor of Iloilo *
Luis Villafuerte Luis Robredo Villafuerte Sr. (August 29, 1935 – September 8, 2021) was a Filipino politician who served as Governor of Camarines Sur and as a member of the House of Representatives from 2004 to 2013. He represented Camarines Sur Camarines ...
- Former Governor of Camarines Sur *
Simeon Marcelo Simeon V. Marcelo (born October 21, 1953) is a Filipino lawyer and was the third Ombudsman of the Philippines. As the Ombudsman, he acted as protector of the people against the illegal and unjust acts of those who are in the public service. He ...
- Former Solicitor General and Ombudsman of the Philippines *
Francisco Chavez Francisco "Frank" Chavez (6 February 1947 – 11 September 2013) was a Filipino lawyer. He was the Solicitor General of the Philippines during the Aquino administration. Early life Born as Francisco Ibrado Chavez in Bateria, Sagay, Negros Occ ...
- Former Solicitor General


Judiciary

*
Pedro Yap Pedro L. Yap (July 1, 1918 – November 20, 2003) was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines in 1988. He briefly served for two and a half months from April 19, 1988 to June 30, 1988, the shortest in history until that record w ...
- Former Chief Justice, Supreme Court * Antonio T. Carpio - Former Associate Justice, Supreme Court * Serafin R. Cuevas - Former Associate Justice, Supreme Court *
Marcelo Fernan Marcelo "Celing" Briones Fernan (October 24, 1927 – July 11, 1999) was a Filipino lawyer and political figure. He is the only Filipino to have served as both Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and as Senate President. He is also the thi ...
- Former Chief Justice, Supreme Court and Senate President * Presbitero Velasco - Former Associate Justice, Supreme Court *
Jhosep Lopez Jhosep Ylarde Lopez (born February 8, 1963) is an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. He was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte to replace Associate Justice Priscilla Baltazar-Padilla who retired on November 3, 2020 ...
- Associate Justice, Supreme Court


Senate

*
Juan Ponce Enrile Juan Valentin Furagganan Ponce Enrile Sr., (born Juanito Furagganan; February 14, 1924), also referred to by his initials JPE, or Manong Johnny, is a Filipino politician and lawyer known for his role in the administration of Philippine dicta ...
- Former Senate President * Jovito R. Salonga - Former Senate President, resigned from fraternity in 2007"Ex-Senate President Salonga Resigns From Fraternity After Hazing Death"
* Edgardo J. Angara - Former Senate President * Juan Edgardo M. Angara - Senator *
Franklin M. Drilon Franklin Magtunao Drilon (born November 28, 1945) is a Filipino lawyer and former politician. He had the longest tenure in the Senate of the Philippines (tied with Lorenzo Tañada, Tito Sotto and incumbent Loren Legarda), having served four n ...
- Senator and former Senate President


House of Representatives

*
Raul Daza Raul A. Daza (born May 2, 1935) is a Filipino lawyer, certified public accountant, and politician, who served in the House of Representatives of the Philippines for 20 years as Representative of the 1st District of Northern Samar (1987–1998; 201 ...
- House Representative *
Oscar Gozos Oscar Gozos is a Filipino politician who served as Mayor of Lipa City, Batangas until June 30, 2010. He was born on September 12, 1950 in Brgy. Sta. Cruz, Rosario, Batangas. He is married to Nilda Mercado. Education He was salutatorian when he ...
- Former House Representative * Victor Sumulong - Former House Representative


Other notable members

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Joe Lipa Jose "Joe" Lipa, Jr. is a Filipino basketball coach and executive who currently coaching the Terrafirma Dyip's 3x3 team in the PBA 3x3. Lipa formerly coached his alma mater, the University of the Philippines, in the University Athletic Asso ...
- Former coach of the University of the Philippines Men's Basketball Team which won the 1986 UAAP Championship and the
Philippines men's national basketball team The Philippines men's national basketball team ( fil, Pambansang koponan ng basketbol ng Pilipinas), commonly known as Gilas Pilipinas, is the basketball team representing the Philippines. The team is managed by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipi ...
*
Stevan Javellana Stevan Javellana (1918–1977) was a Filipino novelist and short story writer in the English language. He is also known as Esteban Javellana.Without Seeing the Dawn ''Without Seeing the Dawn'' is a 1947 novel by Philippine author Stevan Javellana. Its plot was derived from one of José Rizal's character in the Spanish-language novel '' Noli Me Tangere'' or ''Touch Me Not''. Javellana's 368-paged book ha ...
*
Rowena Guanzon Maria Rowena Amelia Villena Guanzon (, born August 29, 1957), is a Filipina lawyer, public servant, and politician who notably served as Philippine Commission on Elections commissioner from 2015 to 2022 under President Benigno Aquino III and ...
- Comelec commissioner


References

{{Authority control Student societies in the Philippines University of the Philippines Student organizations established in 1938 Legal fraternities and sororities in the Philippines 1938 establishments in the Philippines