Police press charges vs 8 AKRHO members linked to Davao hazing death

DAVAO ORIENTAL, Philippines – Police pressed charges against eight of 14 suspects in the violent September 18 Alpha Kappa Rho (AKRHO) fraternity hazing that resulted in the death of a 19-year-old neophyte in Davao City.

The Davao police charged the suspects with violation of the anti-hazing law, Colonel Alberto Lupaz, the city’s police director, said on Wednesday, September 21.

Charged were the following suspects:

• Jeremiah Obedencia Moya
• Leji Wensdy Ofecio Quibuyen
• John Lloyd Garciano Sumagang
• Harold Joshua Sagaral Flauta
• John Steven Baltazar Silvosa
• Ramel John Potenciano Gamo
• Gilbert Escodero Asoy Jr.
• Roseller Andres Gaentano

The Davao City-based University of Mindanao (UM) has released a statement, confirming that its 4th-year Criminal Justice Education students were involved in the hazing, an act the school condemned.

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Major Eudisan Gultiano, the spokesperson of the Philippine National Police in the Davao region, said authorities were coordinating with leaders of the AKRHO Alpha Delta Chapter for the surrender of six other suspects who eluded arrest on Sunday.

Gultiano said the paddle used in the hazing of 19-year-old August Ceazar Saplot in Davao’s Buhangin District was believed to have been taken from the crime scene by those who escaped.

She said police would also file charges against the six other suspects identified as Ryan James Ranolo, Harold Gocotano, John Bacacao, Cherie Norico, Kadjo Matobato, and George M. Regalado.

Police immediately arrested eight members of the fraternity after the death was reported by a concerned citizen.

Gultiano said the family of Saplot has sought an autopsy to determine exactly how the victim died at Purok Santo Niño, Sison Village, Upper Mandug, Buhangin District.

She said another neophyte, an 18-year-old who survived the violent hazing, has initially given a statement to investigators that he saw Saplot pass out during the fraternity rites.

The survivor sustained injuries that sent him to a Davao hospital.

Brigadier General Benjamin Silo Jr., the police director in the Davao region, called on academic institutions in the region to come up with a “strict policy that would give life to the anti-hazing law.”

Silo said leaders of academic institutions “should reach out to all groups in their campuses and maintain a direct communication with them so this will not happen again.”

He told a news conference, “Hazing cannot be fixed by law enforcement alone.” – Rappler.com