THE ANTI-HAZING LAW OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
REPUBLIC ACT No. 8049
AN ACT REGULATING HAZING AND OTHER FORMS OF INITIATION RITES IN FRATERNITIES,
SORORITIES, AND ORGANIZATIONS AND PROVIDING PENALTIES THEREFORE.
Be enacted by Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:
SECTION 1. Hazing as used in this Act is an initiation rite or practice as a prerequisite
for admission into membership in a fraternity, sorority or organization by placing the recruit, neophyte or applicant in some
embarrassing or humiliating situations such as forcing him/her to do menial, silly, foolish and similar tasks or activities
or otherwise subjecting him/her to physical or psychological suffering or injury.
The term organization shall include any club or the Armed Forces of the Philippines,
Philippine National Police, Philippine Military Academy, or cadet corps of the Citizen’s Military Training, or Citizen’s
Army Training. The physical, mental and psychological testing and training procedure and practices to determine and enhance
the physical, mental and psychological fitness of prospective regular members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the
Philippine National Police as approved by the secretary of National Defense and the National Police Commission duly recommended
by the Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Director General of the Philippine National Police shall not
be considered as hazing for the purpose of this act.
SECTION 2. No-hazing or initiation rites in any from or manner by a fraternity, sorority
or organization shall be allowed without prior written notice to the school authorities or head of organization seven (7)
days before the conduct of such initiations. The written notice shall indicate the period of the initiation activities which
shall not exceed three (3) days, shall include the names of those to be subjected to such activities, and shall further contain
an undertaking that no physical violence be employed by anybody during such initiation rites.
SECTION 3. The head of the school or organization or their representatives must assign
at least two (2) representatives of the school or organization, as the case may be, to be present during initiation. It is
the duty of such representative to see to it that no physical harm of any kind shall be inflicted upon a recruit, neophyte
or applicant.
SECTION 4. If the person subjected to hazing or other forms of initiation rites suffers
any physical injury or dies as a result thereof, the officers and members of the fraternity, sorority or organization who
actually participated in the infliction of physical harm shall be liable as principals. The person or persons who participated
in the hazing shall suffer.
a.) The penalty of reclusion perpetual if death, rape, sodomy or mutilation results
therefrom.
b.) The penalty of reclusion temporal in its maximum period if in consequence of the
hazing the victim shall become insane, imbecile, impotent or blind.
c.) The penalty of reclusion temporal in its maximum period if in consequence of the
hazing the victim shall have lost the use of speech or the power to hear or to smell, or shall have lost an eye, a hand, a
foot, an arm or a leg shall have lost the use of nay such member shall have become incapacitated for the activity or work
in which he/she was habitually engaged.
d.) The penalty of reclusion temporal in its minimum period if in consequence of the
hazing the victim shall become deformed or shall have lost any other part of his/her body, or shall have lost the use thereof
or shall have been ill or incapacitated for the performance of the activity or work in which he/she has habitually engaged
for a period of more than ninety (90) days.
e.) The penalty of prison mayor in its maximum period if in consequence of the hazing
the victim shall have been ill or incapacitated for the performance of the activity or work in which he was habitually engaged
for more than thirty (30) days.
f.) The penalty of prison mayor in its medium period if in consequence of the hazing
the victim shall have been ill or capacitated for the performance of the activity or work in which he was habitually engaged
for ten (10) days or more, or that the injury sustained shall require medical attendance for the same period.
g.) The penalty of the prison mayor in its period if in consequence of the hazing the
victim shall have been ill or incapacitated for the performance of the activity or work in which he was habitually engaged
from one (1) to nine (9) days, or that the injury sustained shall require medical attendance for the same period.
h.) The penalty of prison correctional in its maximum period if in consequence of the
hazing the victim shall sustain physical injuries, which do not prevent him/her from engaging in his habitual activity, or
work nor require medical attendance.
The responsible officials of the school or of the police, military or citizen’s
army training organization may impose the appropriate administrative sanctions on the person or persons charged under this
provision even before their conviction.
The maximum penalty herein provided shall be imposed in any of the following instances:
a.) When the recruitment is accompanied by force, violence, threat, intimidation or
deceit on the person of the recruit who refuses to join;
b.) When the recruit, neophyte or applicant initially consents to join but upon learning
that hazing will be committed on his person, is prevented from quitting.
c.) When the recruit, neophyte or applicant having undergone hazing is prevented from
reporting the unlawful act to his parents or guardians, to the proper school authorities or to the police authorities, through
force, violence, threat or intimidation;
d.) When the hazing is committed outside of the school or institution; or
e.) When the victim is below twelve (12) years of age at he time of hazing.
The owner of the place where the hazing is conducted shall be liable as an accomplice,
when he/she has actual knowledge of the hazing conducted therein but failed to take any action to prevent the same from occurring.
If the hazing is held in the home of one of the officers of members of the fraternity, sorority, group, or organization, the
parent shall be held liable as principals when they have actual knowledge of the hazing conducted therein but failed to take
any action to prevent the same from occurring.
The school authorities including faculty members who consent to the hazing or who have
actual knowledge thereof, but failed to take any action to prevent the same from occurring shall be punished as accomplices
for the acts of hazing committed by the perpetrators.
The officers, former officers or alumni of the organization, group, fraternity or sorority
who actually planned the hazing although not present when the acts constituting the hazing were committed shall be liable
as principals. Officers or members of an organization, group, fraternity or sorority’s adviser who is present when the
acts constituting the hazing were committed and failed to take any action to prevent the same from occurring shall be liable
as a principal.
The presence of any person during the hazing is prima facie evidence of participation
therein as a principal unless he prevented the commission of the acts punishable herein.
Any person charged under this provision should not be entitled to the mitigating circumstances
that there was no intention to commit so grave a wrong.
This section shall apply to the president, manager, director, or other responsible
officer of a corporation engaged in hazing as a requirement for employment in the manner provided herein.
SECTION 5. If any provision or part of this Act is declared invalid or unconstitutional,
the other parts or provision thereof shall remain valid and effective.
SECTION 6. All laws. Orders, rules of regulations, which are inconsistent with or contrary
to the provisions of this Act, are hereby amended or repealed accordingly.
SECTION 7. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in at
least two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.
Approved: June 07, 1995
(Signed) FIDEL V. RAMOS
President of the Philippines
