Barbaric Tradition

Plain View

By ATTY. ROMEO V. PEFIANCO

(Editor’s note: Civilized society badly needs to prevent death by hazing. The President’s oath of office requires him to act and talk, not to fold his arms and watch, as noted by the author.)

MANILA, Philippines — If his school friends and “brothers” had not beaten Lenny Villa to death in February, 1991, he would have graduated from the Ateneo de Manila U School of Law, passed the bar, and, at age 42, achieved a measure of success as a lawyer. We don’t know about Lenny’s “killers” and their usefulness in a civilized society if any.

What we know now is their final penalty of a slap on the wrist imposed last week by the Supreme Court – from higher punishments meted out by the Court of appeals and Caloocan RTC.

Campus barbarians

Lenny Villa’s death at the hands of school barbarians was followed by six more hazing-related deaths that led Congress to enact the Anti-Hazing Law on June 7, 1995. This act imposes the penalty of reclusion perpetua (maximum of 40 years) if death, rape, sodomy, or mutilation occurred after the hazing/initiation rites.

Latest victim

Last Monday, the body of an unnamed person was brought to the emergency room of Unciano General Hospital (Antipolo). The hospital pronounced him as a DOA – dead on arrival. As shown on TV, all parts of his body – legs, arms, back, head, abdomen, chest, etc. – bore incredible signs of torture. He got it all at the initiation rites and from his friends.

Paddle or dos por dos?

Frat brods follow tradition at initiation rites using a paddle as a tool of torture. If a paddle is too costly, they have a reserve of wood measuring two inches thick, two inches wide, and three feet long – called dos por dos at any lumber yard. The act of physically beating a neophyte is administered by three or four “masters.” Any part of the body gets a fair share of the punishment.

If under the influence

If the masters are under the influence, they totally lose control and resort to the most barbaric acts of beating the neophyte simultaneously in any part of the body – that can crack the skull, rupture the kidney/lungs, and give deep bruises and cuts causing extreme pain before death.

The torture chamber can be a dark room, an open field, a toilet, or a classroom. I have seen some tools of the Inquisition in Europe that could cause death in a matter of minutes. But torture of a neophyte at the hands of his brods could last a day or several hours until the victims lose the feeling to move or respond – ending in death.

Why?

Let’s ask first: Why is a frat so attractive to students, even in Grade A colleges or high schools? Why do frat brods feel free to beat up, torture to death neophytes? There’s no easy answer. Neophytes are aware, fully, that initiation rites can be “all systems go.” And death in many cases follows, a terrible beating.

The more we ask about frats, the more we fall into lapses without answers.

The President’s oath of office

There are various quarters that wish the President to stop commenting on the conduct of high officials, elective or appointive. This is one tall order that goes against the very core of free and intelligent minds.

Let’s analyze the Presidents’ oath stated in the Constitution before assuming office: “...preserve and defend its Constitution, execute its laws, do justice to every man, and consecrate myself to the service of the Nation...”

Source of power/duty

This oath is affirmed only by our two highest officials, the President and Vice President. It is both a source of power and duty. If the President is not free to comment on official’s acts or refuses to participate in discussions about affairs of the state, he also risks getting the blame from all sides for his failure to prevent graft, inefficiency, disloyalty, or anything that ignores the general welfare and public interest.

The presidential oath needs no further interpretation or construction. It is self-evident. (Comments are welcome at roming@pefianco.com)