Frat leader, 8 others present in initiation rites, say police

MANILA, Philippines - Nine more members of the Lambda Rho Beta fraternity, including Grand Rhoan Eduardo Escobal, were present during the hazing of San Beda freshman law student Marvin Reglos in an Antipolo City resort last Feb. 19, police said yesterday.

Senior Superintendent Rolando Anduyan, Rizal police director, said three witnesses identified Escobal and eight other frat members through pictures shown to them.

Anduyan said they are now readying charges against Escobal and the eight others based on the testimonies of the witnesses, all employees of the Guilleans Place resort, where the initiation rites of 25-year-old Reglos and two other neophytes were held.

Earlier, Superintendent Rodino Elfa, Antipolo City police chief, filed charges of murder in relation to Republic Act 8049 or the anti-hazing law, against frat members Erick Castillo, Bodjie Yap, Arjay Gregana, and Jufali Abdula.

Only Castillo and Yap are under police custody.

Anduyan said they were verifying reports that Escobal is the owner of the car with license plate WMF-174 that brought Reglos to the hospital.

“What we established is that there are three neophytes subjected to initiation rites on that day. One went home to the province to have his injuries healed while the other surfaced in a government agency to reveal what he knew about the incident,” Anduyan said.

Anduyan directed Elfa to take the statements of the two other hazing victims to bolster their case against the suspects.

Elfa said they also have as evidence the bruises on Reglos’ body, the text messages to frat members telling them to keep mum on the initiation rites, and witnesses who can place the victim and suspects at the Antipolo City resort.

When pressed where they got the pictures of the frat members shown to their witnesses, Elfa said “concerned Lambda Rho Beta members” volunteered them to the police.

Elfa said they already have the statements of the resort’s two security guards and a worker, who positively identified Escobal and the eight others as among those present during the initiation rites.

Meanwhile, thousands of sympathizers are expected to troop to Isabela’s interior farming town of Burgos tomorrow to pay their last respects to Reglos, who will be buried in the municipal cemetery.

“We cannot still imagine that our son is no longer with us. It really pains us more thinking what happened to him,” said Reglos’ father Luisito.

The elder Reglos lamented that Marvin’s dreams as well as their efforts to raise him as a responsible community member and a God-fearing individual had merely been wasted with unnecessary violence. 

Marvin was teaching statistics and business subjects at the University of La Salette-Roxas (Isabela) campus when he decided to pursue his dream of taking up law.

His mother, Myrna, even extended her stay in South Korea as an overseas worker to sustain his law studies. She is now in the country to attend her son’s funeral.  – With Charlie Lagasca