In November 1993, Judge Adoracion Angeles of the Caloocan Regional Trial Court found 26 members of the Ateneo law fraternity Aquila Legis guilty of homicide for the February 1991 death of Leonardo “Lenny” Villa and sentenced them to a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of 14 years imprisonment.
Villa was a neophyte of Aquila Legis, a fraternity at the Ateneo de Manila Law School, who died after three days of bloody hazing rites. Villa, a first-year Ateneo Law student, died of serious physical injuries at the Chinese General Hospital where he was rushed.
In January 2002, the Court of Appeals acquitted 19 of the 26 Aquila Legis fraternity members accused of killing Villa.
In exonerating the 19 accused, the court said there was no evidence of conspiracy among the leaders of Aquila Legis and that Villa was a “willing victim.”
Villa’s case 2 decades ago reminded the public of the dark side of hazing and hounded the Aquilia Legis, a fraternity of law students from the Ateneo, for years. His death eventually led to the passage of Republic Act No. 8049, or the Anti-Hazing law. Testimonies of the co-neophytes of Lenny Villa show that they were punched, kicked, elbowed, kneed, and hit with different objects on their arms, legs, and thighs. They were also paddled at the back of their thighs or legs and slapped on their faces.
The Philippine Star then reported that the CA ruled out that there was conspiracy to commit a crime, because the neophytes knew that they would all be subjected to hazing.
In arguing for amendments to the Anti-Hazing law, the Supreme Court highlighted the fact that some of the fraternity members were drinking at the time of the initiation rites.
The SC also took note that Dizon and Villareal — both members of Aquila Legis – ordered that the initiation rites be conducted again.
“It appears from the aforementioned facts that the incident may have been prevented, or at least mitigated, had the alumni of the Aquila Fraternity – accused Dizon and Villareal – restrained themselves from insisting on reopening the initiation rites. Although this point did not matter in the end, as records would show that the other fraternity members participated in the reopened initiation rites – having in mind the concept of ‘seniority’ in fraternities – the implication of the presence of alumni should be seen as a point of review in future legislation,” the SC said.
Hazing still in active practice at Ateneo Law School
It is unfortunate that to this day, hazing is still being practiced by the Aquila Legis Fraternity at the Ateneo School of Law. An Open Letter has been sent by the Editor of Philippine Sentinel to Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin, SJ, President of the Ateneo de Manila University. The Open Letter was published in the Opinion Column of Philippine Daily Inquirer on May 11, 2012. As of press time however, no response has been received from Fr. Villarin. It is sincerely hoped that he has taken the necessary action to put a stop to this barbaric act which is against Republic Act 8049.