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Thursday, September 22, 2005
Tau now ready to talk with cardinal
Leaders of Alpha Kappa Rho (Akrho) sat down with Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia yesterday to try to come up with an agreement on how to clean up their image, while their Tau Gamma Phi counterparts said they plan to meet with the governor next week.
The Tau Gamma Phi council apologized for not showing up last Tuesday upon the governor’s invitation.
“We sincerely apologize that we were not able to reply to her invitation because we need to convene regarding these matters.
We realize that by not coming last Tuesday, it became detrimental to our group. That is not supposed to be the case,” Tau Gamma said.
The group is also ready to meet with Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, who earlier said he wants to help put an end to the rivalry between Tau Gamma and Akrho.
Akrho, on the other hand, is willing to have their members registered with local governments in their respective areas, as they assured Garcia that they only recruit members who are of legal age and have no criminal records.
Akrho regional head Richard Buscaino also agrees with the governor’s suggestion that their members should get barangay clearance.
Buscaino said it would be easier to track down a member who caused trouble if he is registered with a local government unit (LGU).
Garcia is optimistic something can be done with the positive attitude the Akrho leaders are showing but maintained her stand that she will not mediate between the two groups.
“The one positive sign is the leadership realizes that there is a need to discipline their members and in fact they are trying to.
There are other possibilities that we could explore because you already see the right attitude among the leaders of Akrho. But of course this will need the cooperation of these two warring groups as well as the active intervention of the LGUs and the police,” she said.
Tau Gamma Phi leaders have agreed to meet with Garcia on Friday. The governor is “a little pleased” with the development.
Initially, Tau Gamma leaders were hesitant to meet with governor and did not allow a reporter who has their contact number to give it to her.
“For the record, Tau Gamma Phi is willing to meet with the governor and the archbishop in separate closed-door meetings,” the group said in a text message.
Meanwhile, the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) received a letter from Acting Cebu Provincial Police Director Vicente Loot asking them to furnish his office with a consolidated report on the number of incidents in the city involving Tau Gamma and Akrho.
Loot is considering declaring the two fraternities criminal groups because of the number violent incidents involving them.
However, Buscaino said in an interview they discipline or expel erring members.
Garcia will be meeting with all the 186 chapter presidents of Akrho in Cebu in the second week of October.
“I was pleased with the positive attitude that they (Akrho) showed. Let’s translate that into more positive actions,” she said.
In an earlier interview, Loot said that if the two fraternities will be declared criminal groups, they will be banned from recruiting members in universities, which is considered their “breeding ground,” and the police will treat them like other criminal groups.
But Loot admitted his plan is not easy because he has to have legal basis for it and, as of now, he is still collating documents. (MBG/JST)
(September 22, 2005 issue)
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