‘Approval of anti-hazing bill must be prioritized’

A party-list lawmaker has urged the House leadership to prioritize the passage of a measure seeking to prohibit hazing and to regulate all other forms of initiation rites of fraternities, sororities and other organizations.

AKO BICOL party-list Rep. Rodel Batocabe, one of the principal authors of the bill, urged Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. to set the plenary debate on House Bill 5760 after the House Committee on Revision of Laws recommended the approval of the anti-hazing measure as contained in the Committee Report No. 721, which was submitted on May 13, 2015.

“Definitely, the House should prioritize this anti-hazing bill to avoid another unnecessary wastage of a young life through hazing. We should not wait for another victim to hog the news before we act again,” he said in an interview.

A consolidation of five measures, HB 5760 or to be known as the Anti-Hazing Act seeks to amend Republic Act 8049 or “An Act Regulating Hazing And Other Forms of Initiation Rites in Fraternities, Sororities,and Other Organizations and Providing Penalties Therefor.”

Absolute hazing ban Batocabe explained that under the measure, all forms of hazing shall be prohibited at whatever stage of the initiation rites or practices.

He said covered by the prohibition are fraternities, sororities and organizations not based in schools such as those which are community-based.

He said to regulate initiation rites, a written application for its conduct shall be made to the proper authorities of the school not later than seven days prior to the scheduled initiation date.

Contained in the written application are the place and date of the initiation rites; names of the recruit, neophyte or applicant to be initiated and the names of the incumbent officers of the fraternity, sorority, or organization and any person or persons that will take charge in the conduct of the initiation rites.

School authority “School officials shall have the authority to impose, after due notice and summary hearing, disciplinary sanctions, to the head and all other officers of the fraternity, sorority, or organization who participated in the unauthorized initiation rites, even if no hazing was conducted, shall also be punished accordingly,” Batocabe said.

He said the head of the school or an authorized representative must assign at least two representatives of the school to be present during the initiation.