Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 20) — Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri suggests for colleges and universities in the country to require students to disclose their affiliations with fraternities or sororities.
Zubiri made the proposal during the second and final hearing of the Senate Justice Committee on Monday on the death of Adamson University student John Matthew Salilig. According to him, the problem now is that some fraternities and organizations are not school-based.“Do you think that to improve the law, we need to now compel students who enter universities to mandatorily declare that they are members of fraternities para alam ninyo [so you know],” he asked resource persons.“If we now compel, under the law, the schools and the students to mandatorily declare if they are members of fraternities or not, maybe that will help,” Zubiri added.Should it be included in a new measure, the Senate President said colleges and universities will have the grounds to suspend or expel a student involved in cases such as hazing.“I think that would be of great help to the universities so that we will have knowledge whether there are students who are actually members of community-based fraternities,” Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC) legal counsel Luzviminda Rosales said.Rosales explained that most learning institutions do not know the affiliation and membership of students in organizations and fraternities.The Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities (PACU) also agreed with Zubiri’s suggestion as it reiterated that its member schools do not recognize fraternities.Senator Francis Tolentino asked learning institutions if they agree to an amendment that would hold them accountable for students who may get in trouble, whether or not their organization is recognized. PACU disagreed with the proposal.“We respectfully object to the proposal. Because the court, the Supreme Court, affirmed that the school cannot be an insurer of the school against all risks,” PACU legal staff Maya Angelique Jajalla said.She reiterated that schools cannot be penalized if students conduct activities outside of their premises.Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa said amending the Anti-Hazing Law will ensure learning institutions face stiffer penalties and be held accountable for students who get into trouble.Senator Raffy Tulfo also stressed his call for all those involved in hazing activities to be sentenced to reclusion perpetua, whether or not they were present at the venue.For his part, Zubiri said he believes the current law has enough teeth to go after perpetrators, though he acknowledged that “it is with the implementation we are having problems.”
