‘You can’t hide forever’–Binay to hazing suspects

Vice President Jejomar Binay. Photo courtesy of Binay’s official Facebook page.

MANILA—Saying he will welcome them if they surrender directly to him, Vice President Jejomar Binay said on Tuesday that hazing suspects can not be hiding forever and that they have to eventually surrender themselves to authorities.

“Hindi po p’wedeng habangbuhay kayong magtatago. Meron po kayong dapat harapin, dahil sa ang kanilang ginawa ay hindi tama. Unang-una, bawal ho iyan. Pangalawa, condemnable po iyan. Buhay ang nawala. Hindi tama,” he said in a statement published in a Rappler report.

(You can’t hide forever. You have an issue to face, because what you did was wrong. First of all, it’s prohibited. Second, that is condemnable. A life was lost. That is not right.)

Binay who went to visit the hazing victim Guillo Servando who did not survive the initiation is now hoping for a speedy trial of the case.

“Uulitin ko: sana madaling matapos ang kaso. Kasi ang punishment ay napakalayo sa time ng death. So wala nang lasa. It’s not felt anymore. Kaya ka pine-penalize, kasi para hindi na mangyari ulit. Kung sampung taon na, walang lasa na ‘yun,” he said.

(I repeat: I hope the case will be solved soon. Because when the penalty is meted out far from the time of death, it doesn’t have any impact. It’s not felt anymore. You are being penalized so that the incident doesn’t happen again. If it takes 10 years to solve the case, it doesn’t have any impact anymore.)

Binay, being a fraternity member, disapproves the abolition of fraternities saying they have contributed a lot on institutions such as the University of the Philippines (UP).

He, instead, suggested to regulate it as he said fraternities have high possibilities of being monitored and regulated.

“Ang alam kong naging malaking bagay sa UP (University of the Philippines), iyang mga iyan (fraternities) ay mino-monitor, regulated, at least, kilala mo sila. If they are registered, they are informed, ‘Ops, bawal ang hazing ah.’ Kapag nagkaroon ng hazing, sususpindihin namin kayo,” Binay said.

(I know this was a big thing in UP, those groups were monitored, regulated – at least you know them. If they are registered, they are informed: “Hazing is prohibited. If you insist, you will be suspended.”)

With reports from Rappler