My fellow columnist, Atty. Cesar Europa, recalled the beginnings of Ateneo de Davao University Law School’s “TAU MU” which was started in 1967 by my classmates, HS 69, MON ALOJIPAN, BEN DE GUZMAN, and Rudy Raymundo; ROGER FERNANDEZ was a year ahead while LARRY ILAGAN I met through my friend Atty. TIM TE in the mid-90s. Both Larry and Tim have since passed on to that great courtroom up there.
Law fraternities which were involved in hazing deaths included the infamous AQUILA LEGIS frat men who killed LENNY VILLA. These “BROTHERS-IN-BLOOD” were tried, convicted and jailed for a short time then FREED by the intercession of their lawyer-brods. Connections!
Then recently, the UST Law fratmen MURDERED their brod — ATIO CASTILLO.
And these are FRAT LAW STUDENTS! SHAME!
Even more shameful is the recent hazing-TORTURE-MURDER of a PMA cadet.
Fraternities that are involved in these murders should be BANNED forever. Fraternity and school officials should be heavily FINED — and/or JAILED.
If PMA or the PNPA cannot stop HAZING-KILLINGS, these should be DE-established and replaced with the ROTC.
But not all hazing results in DEATH — but these are certainly abhorrent.
Not all hazing results in victims being tortured and murdered, but many cause survivors’ lives to be changed drastically — and almost disastrously.
Take the case of my friend, a classmate at AdM College ‘65. He was the son of a general, a promising basketball star — a Blue Eaglet — so naturally he got accepted at PMA.
When I came back from my AFS sr yr in tv HS, CA., I was surprised to see him back in AdM. I played basketball intrams with him, still pretty good but visibly limping — bad knees.
He told me his story: At PMA in his plebe year, since he was a general’s son, he got “special” treatments at his initiation. He tolerated — and survived — all these — until the FINAL test.
He was BLINDFOLDED by his “brothers”, taken to a building and ordered to “jump!”
So, like a good soldier, he did.
Well, no one told him he was on the 2nd floor! He broke both legs at the knees — and had to leave the academy.
That’s why he was back in Arrneow.
He became the head of Procter and Gamble Indonesia with my cousin Tito who was there to manage the VALENCIA logging business in Indonesia.
