THE COMMISSION on Higher Education condemned the hazing of Adamson University chemical engineering student John Matthew Salilig that led to his death.

“CHED strongly condemns hazing and all forms of violence in our institutions of higher learning. RA 11053 or the Anti-Hazing Act of 2018 was passed into law on 29 June 2018 to strengthen the enforcement of the Anti Hazing law,” CHED Chairperson Prospero de Vera III said in a statement.

“CHED will remain steadfast in its unceasing efforts to rid our higher education institutions of hazing and all forms of senseless acts of violence,” De Vera added.

De Vera appealed to all higher education institutions to work to ensure that such an incident will not be repeated.

“CHED enjoins all higher education stakeholders to join hands and actively strive to end this culture of violence that continues to plague our institutions of higher learning,” he said.

Earlier, the Adamson University Student Government, the Adamson Chronicle and various student groups urged the university administration to be more transparent on the Salilig case and to ensure that those responsible for his death will be brought to justice.

THE Alliance of Concerned Teachers also condemned the incident.

“He was the latest among our hapless students who fell prey to the violent, macho-fascist hazing culture that afflicts school-based fraternities for decades,” Vladimir Quetua, the group’s chairperson, said.

“It was also the same destructive culture that dominated the Reserved Officers Training Course, especially at a time when it was still institutionalized as a required course, until it claimed the life of UST student and ROTC officer Mark Welson Chua in 2001,” Quetua added.

He said that Salilig’s death should prompt government officials “to drop altogether the plans to revive the ROTC.”

“We call on all fraternities to seriously exert efforts in purging this violent tradition and culture of hazing in their midst,” Quetua said.

“Hazing and violence only tend to invalidate the exemplary record of fraternities in nation-building as these perpetuate the barbaric and backward culture that should be repudiated, and rob victims of their lives and dreams,” he said.