Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

6473

HOUSE BILL

Introduced by Representative Edgar Mary S. Sarmiento

—_
EXPLANATORY NOTE

The death of University of Santo Tomas law student Horacio Castillo III due to hazing
is a wake-up call to repeal Republic Act No. 8049 — more commonly known as the Anti-
Hazing Law — and put in place a measure that would truly deter the conduct of this abhorrent
practice.

This bill seeks to prohibit hazing and regulate initiation rites of fraternities, sororities
and organizations. It also requires said groups to register in the schools or communities they
are based in. Moreover, the bill imposes higher penalties for individuals who participate in or
allow the conduct of hazing

The House of Representatives during the 16" Congress has passed on 3" Reading and
transmitted to the Senate a similar bill which was then principally authored by Hon. Sherwin
T. Gatchalian. However, it was not passed into law.

This version, in addition to retaining the original proposal of the House last Congress,
imposes a mandatory requirement for a medical certificate before any initiation rites can be
conducted, The medical certificate should be issued by the school doctor or the Municipal
Health Officer. A licensed physician who fraudulently issues a medical certificate is penalized
under this bill

Lives have been lost too early due to the senseless practice of hazing. Let this be the
time that we proactively address this problem which has caused so much devastation to many
Filipino families.

In view of the foregoing, the immediate approval of this bill is eamestly sought.

EDGAR M\RY S. SARMIENTO
Representative, 1* District, Samar


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No, 6473
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Introduced by Representative Edgar Mary S. Sarmiento

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EXPLANATORY NOTE
AN ACT PROHIBITING HAZING AND REGULATING OTHER FORMS OF

INITIATION RITES OF FRATERNITIES, SORORITIES, AND OTHER
ORGANIZATIONS, AND PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION THEREOF,
REPEALING FOR THE PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8049

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress
assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the “Anti-Hazing Act of 2017”.
SECTION 2. Definition of Terms. — For purposes of this Act

a. Hazing ~ refers to any physical or psychological suffering, harm or injury inflicted on a
recruit, member, neophyte, or applicant as a form of an initiation rite or practice made as a
Prerequisite for admission or a requirement for continuing membership in a fraternity, sorority,
or organization. This shall also include any activity, intentionally made or otherwise, by one
person alone or acting with others, that tend to humiliate or embarrass, degrade, abuse, or
endanger, by recruiting a recruit, member, neophyte or applicant to do menial, silly or foolish
tasks,

b. Organization ~ refers to an organized body of people which includes but is not limited to

clubs, associations, and groups


¢. Schools — refer to colleges, universities, and all other educational institutions.

SECTION 3. Prohibition on Hazing. — All forms of hazing shall be prohibited in fraternities,
sororities, and organizations in schools, including Citizen’s Military Training and Citizen’s
Amny Training. It shall likewise be prohibited in fraternities, sororities, and organizations not
based in schools such as those which are community-based. In no case shall hazing be made a
requirement for employment in any business or corporation.

SECTION 4. Regulation of Initiation Rites. — Only initiation rites or practices, which do not
inflict direct or indirect physical or psychological suffering, harm, or injury to the recruit, or
applicant of a fraternity, sorority, or organization, shall be allowed: Provided, That:

a. A written application to conduct initiation rites shall be made to the proper authorities of the
school not later that seven (7) days prior to the scheduled initiation date;

b. The written application shall indicate the place and date of the initiation rites and the names
of the recruit, neophyte, or applicant to be initiated;

c. The application shall include as attachment a medical certificate issued by the school doctor
of the educational institution it is registered in. It shall state that the recruit, neophyte, or
applicant has undergone a thorough check-up and is in good physical condition. Only those
with medical certificates can be allowed to proceed with the initiation rites.

d. The initiation rites shall not last more than three (3) days;

€. The application shall contain 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;

£. The application shall be under oath with a declaration that it has been posted in the official
school bulletin board, the bulletin board of the office of the fraternity, sorority, or organization,
and two other conspicuous places in the school or in the premises of the organization;


g. The application shall be posted from the time of submission of the written notice to the
school authorities or head of organization and shall only be removed from its posting three (3)
days after the conduct of the initiation rites;

The school, organization, fraternity, or sorority shall provide for their respective bulletin boards
for the purposes of this section.

The appropriate authorities of the school shall have the right to approve or disapprove the
application, and the reasons thereof shall be stated clearly and in unequivocal terms in a formal
advice to the fraternity, sorority, or organization concerned taking into consideration the safety
and security of participants in the activity. Guidelines for the approval or denial of the
application to conduct initiation rites by a registered fraternity, sorority, or organization shall
be promulgated by the appropriate school officials not later than sixty (60) days after the
approval of this Act.

School officials shall have the authority to impose, after due notice and summary hearing, the
disciplinary sanctions to the head and all other officers of the fraternity, sorority, or
organization which conducts an initiation without first securing the necessary approval of the
school as required under this Section. All members of the fraternity, sorority or organization,
who participated in the unauthorized initiation rites, even if no hazing was conducted, shall be
punished accordingly.

In case the written application for the conduct of an initiation rite contains false or inaccurate
information, appropriate disciplinary sanctions shall be imposed, after due notice and summary
hearing, against the person who prepared the application or supplied the false and inaccurate
information and the head and other officers of the fraternity, sorority, or organization
concerned.

SECTION 5. Monitoring of Initiation Rites. - The head of the school or an authorized
representative must assign at least two (2) representatives of the school to be present during
the initiation. It is the duty of the school representatives to see to it that no hazing is conducted
during the ini

initiation shall make a report to the appropriate officials of the school regarding the conduct of
the initi

tion rites. The representatives of the school who were present during the

ion.


SECTION 6. Registration of Fraternities, Sororities, and Other Organizations. — All
existing fraternities, sororities and other organizations otherwise not created or organized by
the school but has existing members who are students or plans to recruit students to be its
members shall be required to register with the proper authorities of the school before it conducts
activities whether on or off-campus, including recruitment of members.

A newly established fraternit
with the proper authorities of the school during the semester or trimester in which it was

, Sorority, or organization in a school shall immediately register

established or organized: Provided, That the new fraternity, sorority or organization has
complied with the requirements prescribed by the school in establishing a fraternity, sorority
or organization: Provided, further, That schools shall promulgate their guidelines in the
registration of fratemities, sororities, and organizations within their jurisdiction not later than
sixty (60) days from the approval of this Act.

Upon registration, all fraternities, sororities, and organizations shall submit a comprehensive
list of members, which shall be updated not later than thirty (30) days from the start of every
semester or trimester, depending on the academic calendar of the school.

School officials shall have the authority to impose, after due notice and summary hearings,
disciplinary penalties to the head and other officers of the fraternity, sorority, or organization
who fails to register or update their roster of members as required under this Section.

SECTION 7. Faculty Adviser. — All fraternities, sororities, and organizations must be assigned
@ faculty adviser responsible for monitoring the activities of the fraternity, sorority, or
organization. The faculty adviser must be a duly recognized active member, in good standing,
of the faculty at the school in which the fraternity, sorority, or organization is registered

SECTION 8. Role of Educational Institutions. — Schools shall implement an information
dissemination campaign at the start of every semester or trimester to provide adequate
information to students regarding the consequences of ‘conducting and participating in hazing.

An orientation program relating to membership in a fraternity, sorority or organization shall
also be conducted by schools at the start of every semester or trimester.


Schools shall encourage fraternities, sororities, and organizations to engage in undertakings
that foster holistic personal growth and development and activities that contribute to solving
relevant and pressing issues of society.

SECTION 9. Registration of Community-Based Fraternities, Sororities, and Organizations.
~ All new and existing community based fratemities, sororities, or organizations shall register
with the barangay or municipality or city wherein it is primarily based.

Upon registration, all community based fraternities, sororities, or organizations shall submit a
comprehensive list of members and officers which shall be updated yearly from the date of
registration.

SECTION 10. Regulation of Initiation Rights for Community-Based Fraternities,
Sororities, or Organizations, — Only initiation rites or practices which do not inflict direct or
indirect physical or psychological suffering, harm, or injury to the recruit, neophyte, or
applicant of a fraternity, sorority, or organization shall be allowed. Provided, That:

a. A written application to conduct initiation rites shall be made to the barangay captain in the
barangay or the municipal or city mayor in the city or municipality where the community-based
fraternity, sorority, or organization is based not later than seven (7) days prior to the scheduled
initiation date;

b. The written application shall indicate the place and date of the initiation rites and the names
of the recruit, neophyte, or applicant to be initiated;

¢. The application shall include as attachment a medical certificate issued by the Municipal or
City Health Officer of the city or municipality it is registered in. It shall state that the recruit,
neophyte, or applicant has undergone a thorough check-up and is in good physical condition
Only those with medical certificates can be allowed to proceed with the initiation rites.

d. The initiation rites shall not last more than three (3) days;


€. The application shall contain the names of the incumbent officers of the community-based
fraternity, sorority, or organization and any person or persons that will take charge in the
conduct of the initiation rites;

£ The application shall be under oath with a declaration that it has been posted in the barangay
hall or the municipal or city hall where the community-based fraternity, sorority, or
organization is based and the bulletin board of the office of the community-based fraternity,
sorority, or organization;

g. The application shall be posted from the time of submission of the written notice to the
barangay captain or municipal or city mayor and shall only be removed from its posting three
(3) days after the conduct of the initiation rites;

SECTION 11, Monitoring of Initiation Rites of Community-Based Fraternities, Sororities,
or Organizations. — The barangay captain of the barangay or the municipal or city mayor of
the municipality or city where the community-based fraternity, sorority, or organization is
based must assign at least two (2) barangay or municipal or city officials to be present during
the initiation, It shall be their duty to see to it that no hazing is conducted during the initiation
rites, The representatives who were present during the initiation shall make a report to the
barangay captain, or the municipal or city mayor regarding the conduct of the initiation,

SECTION 12. Nullity of Waiver and Consent. — Any form of approval, consent, or
agreement, whether written or otherwise, or of an express waiver of the right to object to the
initiation rite or proceeding which consists of hazing ad defined in this Act, made by a recruit,
neophyte, or applicant prior to an initiation rite that involves inflicting physical or
Psychological suffering, harm or injury, shall be void and without any binding effect on the
parties.

The defense that the recruit, neophyte, or applicant consented to being subjected to hazing shall
not be available to persons persecuted under this Act.

SECTION 13, Implementing Rules and Regulations. — The Commission on Higher
Education (CHED), together with the Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Justice
(DOJ), Philippine National Police (PNP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Department


of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Social Welfare and Development
(DSWD), and National Youth Commission (NYC), shall promulgate the implementing rules
and regulations within ninety (90) days from the effectivity of this Act.

SECTION 14. Administrative Sanctions. — The responsible officials of the school or of the
police or military may impose the appropriate administrative sanctions, after due notice and
summary hearing, on the person or the persons charged under this Act even before their

conviction.

SECTION 15. Penalties and Liability of those involved in Hazing. ~

a. The following penalties shall be imposed:

1) The penalty of reclusion temporal and a fine of one million pesos (P1,000,000.00)
shall be imposed upon the participating officers and members of the fraternity, sorority,
organization, business or corporation involved in the hazing

2) The penalty of reclusion perpetua and a fine of two million Pesos (P2,000,000.00)
shall be imposed upon the members of the fraternity, sorority, organization, business or
corporation who were intoxicated or under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs
when they actually participated in the hazing.

‘The same penalty shall be imposed upon the non-resident or alumni members of the
fraternity, sorority, organization, business or corporation who actually participated in
the hazing

3) The penalty of reclusion perpetua and a fine of three million pesos (P3,000,000.00)
shall be imposed upon those who actually participated in the hazing, if'as a consequence
of the hazing, death, rape, sodomy, or mutilation results therefrom;

4) A fine of one million pesos (P1,000,000.00) shall be imposed on the school if the
fraternity, sorority, or organization filed a written application to conduct an initiation
which was subsequently approved by the school and hazing occurred during the


initiation rites or when no representatives from the school were present during the
initiation as provided under Section 5 of this Act

5) It shall be unlawful for any person to intimidate, threaten, force, or to employ, or
administer any form of vexation against another person for the purpose of recruitment
in joining or promoting a particular fraternity, sorority, organization, business or
corporation. The persistent and repeated proposal on invitation made to a person who
had twice refused to participate or join the proposed fraternity, sorority, organization,
business or corporation shall be prima facie vexation for purposed of this Section.
Provided further, that violation of this section shalll be punished by prision correccional
in its minimum period.

b. The owner of the place where hazing is conducted shall be held liable as a principal when
he has actual knowledge of the hazing conducted therein but failed to take any action to prevent
the same from occurring or failed to promptly report the same to the law enforcement
authorities if he can do so without peril to himself or his family. If the hazing is held in the
home of one of the officers or members of the fraternity, sorority, organization, business or
corporation, the parents shall be held liable as principals when they have actual knowledge of
the hazing conducted therein but failed to take any action to prevent the same from occurring
or failed to promptly report the same to the law enforcement authorities if he can do so without
peril to himself or his family.

©. The school authorities including faculty members as well as barangay, municipal, or city
officials shal! be held administratively liable for hazing conducted by fraternities, sororities,
and other organizations, if it can be shown that the school or barangay, municipal, or city
official allowed or consented to the conduct of hazing or where there is actual knowledge of
hazing, but failed to take any action to prevent the same from occurring or failed to promptly
report to the law enforcement authorities if the same can be done without peril to the person
reporting or his family.

. The officers, former officers, or alumni of the fraternity, sorority, organization, business or
corporation who actually planned the hazing, although not present when the acts constituting
the hazing were committed shall be liable as principals.


A fraternity, sorority, organization's faculty adviser, who is present when the acts constituting
the hazing were committed and failed to take action to prevent the same from occurring or
failed to promptly report the same to the law enforcement authorities if he can do so without
peril to himself or his family, shall be liable as principal

¢. The presence of any person during the hazing is prima facie evidence of participation therein
as principal unless he prevented the commission of the acts punishable herein or promptly
reported the same to the law enforcement authorities if he can do so without peril to himself or
his family.

£. The incumbent officers of the fraternity, sorority, organization, business or corporation
concerned shall be jointly liable with those members who actually participated in the hazing.
‘The prima facie presumption that arises herein shall be rebutted only by the individual defense
of desistance and renunciation by the accused.

8. Medical practitioners who shall fraudulently or maliciously issue a medical certificate
without actually checking the recruit, neophyte or applicant prior to the initiation rites shall be
penalized with a fine of P500,000.00 without prejudice to administrative or criminal liabilities.

h. Any person charged under this Act shall not be entitled to the mitigating circumstance that
there was no intention to commit so grave a wrong,

i. In the case of business and corporation, the president, manager, director, or other responsible
officer of a corporation engaged in hazing shall likewise be liable under this Act.

J. This section shall apply to the president, manager, director or other responsible officer of a
corporation engaged in hazing as a requirement for employment in the manner provided herein.

k. Any judgment of final conviction shall be reflected in the scholastic record, personal, or
employment record of the person convicted, regardless of when the conviction is arrived at.

SECTION 12. Separability Clause. — If any provisions or part of this Act is declared invalid
or unconstitutional, the remaining parts or provisions not affected thereby shall remain in full
force and effect.

10


SECTION 13. Repealing Clause. — Republic Act No. 8049 is hereby repealed. All other laws,
decrees, executive orders, proclamations, rules and regulations, or parts thereof inconsistent

with the provisions of this Act are hereby amended, repealed or modified accordingly.

SECTION 14. Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or in any newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,

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