MANILA, Philippines — Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Friday urged full cooperation from the Tau Gamma Phi fraternity in identifying and turning over those responsible for the hazing death of a first-year maritime student in Cavite
Secretary Remulla confirmed that 17 members of the fraternity were now considered suspects, with authorities expecting to take them into custody soon.
“This is unacceptable,” Remulla said in a media briefing. “We expect Tau Gamma Phi, a 1-million-strong organization, to cooperate fully in locating and turning over their members. This will not go unpunished. We will pursue all of them.”
He also urged the fraternity’s senior leadership to take proactive measures to end the culture of violence in initiation rites.
“The manifesto against violence by the senior leadership does not protect them from tragedies. Real accountability is required,” he added.
The case of Mark Kenneth Alcedo, 19, marks the second hazing-related death in Remulla’s province involving the same fraternity in four years.
“Someone has to take responsibility for what happened. We cannot blame or quarrel forever. The fraternity has promised to cooperate fully and to reform the culture of violence in their initiations,” Remulla said.