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HE Alpha Phi Omega (APO) International Philippines will now be adopting a no-hazing policy in the recruitment of new members.
Magleo V. Adriano, national APO president, said they have already pledged to campaign for a national resolution in 2007 supporting Republic Act 8049, or the Anti-Hazing Policy.
“Death cases due to hazing during initiation rites before the resolution was adopted have soared high,” Adriano said during a press conference at Limketkai Center Thursday.
He, however, did not specify the number of deaths due to hazing, claiming there were no official tracking of the victims.
Adriano added that hazing victims and the “hazers” would definitely not admit the wrongdoing while doctors may not recognize their case as hazing.
“There is no difference between hazing and non-hazing practice to check the commitment and loyalty of our new members. It is not through hazing that we contemplate to the upcoming new members. They will undergo a series of programs to determine their dedication,” Adriano said.
He admitted though that as of the moment, only 40 percent of their chapters have adopted the no-hazing policy.
Since Thursday, around 2,000 members of APO in the Philippines gathered in Cagayan de Oro for their 26th National Biennial convention dubbed “One vision in the second decade of the third millennium.”
“Here in Mindanao, most of the chapters apply minimal hazing but that can be changed since during this year’s four-day convention, we will discuss and strictly implement a no-hazing policy to all our chapters,” Adriano said.
The constitution and by-laws of APO mandates to conduct a biennial general assembly to tackle legislative and constitutional issues on hand, and the convening of the Electoral College to elect new officials to govern the APO organization.
