After long wait, UP fratman finally graduates with honors

He waited in jail for nearly six years for the coveted honors.

Today, UP Scintilla Juris fratman Raymund Narag, 27, will march with 2002 graduates of the state university’s National College of Public Administration (NCPA) to receive long-awaited cum laude honors.

Narag was one of five members of his fraternity who was acquitted by the Quezon City Regional Trial Court of the cold-blooded murder of Sigma Rhoan and fellow public administration student Dennis Venturina in the University of the Philippines Diliman campus in 1994.

"I’ve waited for so long for it," he told The STAR. Narag, a native of Tuguegarao City, was supposed to have been awarded cum laude honors when he graduated from the NCPA (then the College of Public Administration) in 1995. The college’s Academic Committee, however, decided to put the award on hold until he was cleared of the charges.

Vindication came after nearly six years in jail for Narag, who has since become a staunch advocate against fraternity violence. Narag told reporters shortly after Branch 219 Judge Jose Catral Mendoza acquitted him that he wants to pursue his long-time freedom of becoming a lawyer. He is also looking for funding for a book he wants to write on his experience behind bars.

UP president Francisco Nemenzo has tapped him to head a sustained campaign to stop fraternity violence on campus.

"When I got home after I was released, I couldn’t stand the sight of knives lying about in the kitchen," he said. "That’s because in jail we were always wary of knives because they could cause a lot of trouble." – Romel Bagares