House panel approves total hazing ban bill

A subcommittee in the House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a measure seeking to prohibit all forms of hazing and regulate the initiation rites of fraternities, sororities, and other organizations.

The House justice subcommittee on prosecutorial reforms approved House Bill No. 3467, which proposes amendments to the 20-year old Anti-Hazing Law or Republic Act 8049.

House justice committee chairman Reynaldo Umali said that this measure has been among the legislative priorities of the House even before the death of University of Santo Tomas law student Horacio Castillo III due to hazing.

Bagong Henerasyon Partylist Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy, author of the bill, said the proposed revision makes all forms of hazing illegal, instead of just regulating hazing, with penalties ranging from fines to life imprisonment.

The bill also expands the definition of hazing to cover psychological injuries in addition to physical suffering, as well as beyond just incidences related to gaining membership in an organization.

Herrera-Dy also said that school-based fraternities, sororities and organizations would be required to register with school authorities, while community-based organizations would likewise be required to register with their respective local government units.

Herrera-Dy said the initiation rites of fraternities, sororities, and organizations shall be monitored to “see to it that no hazing is conducted.”

The measure will be forwarded to the mother committee for another round of deliberations before being endorsed to plenary.

Castillo died of cardiac arrest secondary to the injuries he sustained from hazing.