As the local police leadership promised to lodge complaints against the suspects “very soon,” the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI 7) has said that it will conduct its own probe on the death of Ronnel Masamoc Baguio, a student of the University of Cebu’s Maritime Education and Training Center (UC-METC) who died on Dec. 19, 2022 days after undergoing the initiation rites of Tau Gamma Phi fraternity.
NBI 7 Director Rennan Augustus Oliva, a lawyer, said on Friday, March 3, 2023, that Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) in Central Visayas had requested them to initiate an investigation, and the inquiry will be led by Associate Director Dominador Cimafranca.
Oliva said the agency’s focus is to determine whether hazing had been the cause of Baguio’s death.
The NBI 7 is open to working with the police to solve the crime quickly, Cimafranca said in a separate interview.
Go’s promise
UC president Augusto Go, in a television interview with GMA 7’s Balitang Bisdak on Friday, vowed that justice will be served against the perpetrators behind Baguio’s death.
Go, a lawyer, condemned the incident, describing it as tragic. He said UC does not tolerate any form of hazing.
“My heart goes out to the student and my heartfelt condolence to the family over the death of such a young boy,” Go said.
Go assured that UC is fully cooperating with the police investigation of the matter, adding that the school has conducted an internal investigation but refused to divulge details to the public.
“Cases will be filed against the people who are involved in this incident,” Go added.
Baguio’s death became public during PAO chief Persida Acosta’s press conference on Thursday, March 2, following the hazing-related death of Adamson University student John Matthew Salilig at the hands of Tau Gamma Phi fraternity members.
Students
The Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) said the five suspects are members of Tau Gamma Phi fraternity. One of them is the master initiator, while the four others are also students of UC-METC.
Lt. Col. Maria Theresa Macatangay, CCPO’s information officer, said the suspects were identified through testimonies of one of the witness, who was initially identified as a person of interest.
The police have refused to name the suspects pending the filing of criminal complaints.
Macatangay said they have located the area where the hazing had happened, and investigators have been getting statements from residents in the area.
She said that it took some time for the police in Cebu City to investigate the case as Baguio’s family has not provided them yet the victim’s cellular phone, which could be used to identify his contacts.
After Baguio’s death, Macatangay said the victim’s family coordinated with investigators of Mambaling Police Station, but they later decided to bury first the victim’s body in their hometown in Mariveles, Bataan in Luzon.
No delay
The police official clarified that the CCPO had not intentionally delayed the investigation on the case.
Macatangay said they will file the charges against the five suspects next week, adding that they will include in the charges the teacher who recruited the victim into the fraternity.
The teacher, whose name has been withheld by police, has issued a sworn statement identifying the persons involved in the initiation rites.
Macatangay said there is a big possibility that the teacher will be considered a state witness. She said the pieces of evidence that they have gathered are strong enough to pin the suspects, but they are still getting the side of another witness who was among those who underwent the initiation rites.
Appeal
Macatangay also assured that they will prioritize the case and no one can influence the outcome of the investigation.
She admitted that there are some members of the police force who are also members of the Tau Gamma Phi, but she assured Baguio’s family that these people cannot influence their investigation.
She appealed to Tau Gamma Phi not to threaten the witnesses in the case, stressing the police will go after them if they do so.
But Macatangay is confident that the fraternity will also impose sanctions on those who will be found responsible in Baguio’s death.
An official of the Tau Gamma Phi Alumni Association in Cebu City, who asked not to be named, told SunStar Cebu that their council has told the members of the UC chapter that the group must cooperate in the investigation being conducted by the police.
The fraternity also vowed to adhere to the Anti-Hazing Law.
Mother’s request
Baguio’s mother, Leny, has sought the help of PAO Chief Persida Acosta as she wants to expedite the probe into her son’s death.
On Thursday, March 2, Leny said in a press conference with PAO officials that days before Baguio’s death, the student had complained of stomach pain, headaches, a suspected urinary tract infection, and was even vomiting blood.
Leny said she had sent Baguio money for medical consultation without knowing that he had joined a fraternity and that his symptoms were the result of hazing.
Leny said when she called Ronnel, his friend informed her that he had been hospitalized. Leny immediately flew from Bataan to Cebu, but it was too late; her son was already dead when she arrived.
Leny said Ronnel had many wounds in his legs and his feet were swollen.
PAO Director Revelyn Ramos-Dacpano said based on the initial investigation, the hazing happened on Dec. 10.
She said investigation also showed that an instructor of UC was involved in his hazing.
As for the Salilig case, Tau Gamma Phi fraternity vowed Wednesday, March 1, to impose penalties to those who will be found responsible for the student’s death.
In a statement, the National Council of Tau Gamma Phi Triskelion’s Grand Fraternity said it will “ensure that those who will be found responsible will be dealt with accordingly.”
“The Tau Gamma Phi renounces any form of violence and brutality as the one of guiding precepts of our actions. Let us be reminded that we are a fraternity of responsible and God-fearing men who believe in ‘the power of reason and not in the use of force as reason,’” the group stated.
It expressed its sympathy and condolence to the family of Salilig. (AYB, ANV, LMY, EHP)