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Press Release - House Committee on Public Information Chair and Bagong Henerasyon Party-list Representative Bernadette Herrera-Dy is the principal author of House Bill 3467 or the Revised Anti-Hazing Law.

Apparently and by all indications from publicly available information, the fraternity to which Horacio Castillo III was seeking admission as a new member, has not learned the tragic and painful lessons of previous fatal hazing incidents that prompted Congress to work on four hazing bills and consult various sectors on how to address hazing.
 
I personally condole with the family, friends, and loved ones of Horacio Castillo III. While no words can express our deep sorrow about the tragedy, I can say that his death and his memory will spur me and my colleagues into even faster and diligent action on our bills on hazing.
 
I am certain that the University of Santo Tomas has enough powers and measures in place to address this tragedy at their level. But I must urge the Department of Justice and the National Bureau of Investigation to immediately investigate and criminally charge everyone responsible for the hazing death of Horacio Castillo, III.
 
In crafting House Bill 3467, we incorporated lessons learned from the hazing deaths of Marvin Reglos and Lenny Villa, including suggestions from the Supreme Court to address gaps current laws do not cover.
 
HB 3467 does not regulate hazing, it makes all hazing illegal. The definition of hazing in this bill is inclusive.
 
HB 3467 requires the presence of at least two representatives of the school during the initiation. This way, there cannot be any secret initiation. The school representative is duty-bound to make sure no harm is inflicted upon the recruit, neophyte or applicant.
 
In HB 3467, sudden, unscheduled, or impromptu initiations are not allowed. All initiations must have prior written notice of seven days.
 
The bill also specifically provides that suffering includes not just physical but also psychological.
 
Life in prison is the penalty if the hazing results in death (including suicide), rape, sodomy or mutilation.
 
The bill also lists conditions that will ensure the maximum penalty is applied.

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