THE mother of the hazing victim said the death of her son is unexpected since he only asked permission to finish a project.
“Pagkagabii sa Sabado (Saturday night), niingon siya sa akoa nga naa siyay adtoon nga project daw sa Buhangin Gym (he told me that he needs to finish a project at the Buhangin Gym, so mosayo daw siya’g lakaw pagka-Sunday (so he will be off early on Sunday),” Regina Saplot said during a press conference on September 23, 2022.
She said she received a call at 3 p.m. but she was not able to answer it, then another call came in at 5 p.m.
“Natubag na nako siya (I was able to answer that call), nangutana siya kung ako ba daw ang mother ni Ceazar Saplot, tapos sa Mandug Police Station daw siya, tapos niana ang taga Mandug nga ‘anhi dire Ma’am sa Police Station’ kay didto ra daw mi mag-storya (he asked me if I am the mother of Ceazar Saplot, then he said he is from the Mandug Police Station and he asked me to visit their Police Station),” Saplot said.
Saplot said that they were having a hard time traveling to Mandug Police Station due to lack of transportation.
“Nagab-ihan mi kay wala mi masakyan kay layo baya kaayo, tapos nanawag siya og balik unya niana siya nga involved daw akong anak sa hazing, unya pagkahuman naay patay (It was already late at night when we reached the Police Station but before that he called me again and told me that my son was involved in a hazing and someone died),” Saplot said.
Saplot said that when she reached the police station, the personnel who called her seemed to be having a hard time telling her the current situation.
“Abi nakog dal-on ko niya sa prisohan kay napriso akong anak, natingala ko kay dili kaayo siya kaestorya sa akoa ba... tapos iya kung gitapik tapos niana siya nga ‘Ma’am, actually imuhang anak ang namatay’ (I thought he will bring me to the prison cell because my son was inside. Then I got curious why he couldn’t seem to talk to me, then later he comforted me and told me ‘Ma’am actually it was your son who died’),” Saplot said.
Saplot said the news shocked her.
“Akoa diay tong anak ang namatay... niadto mi sa morgue didto nako nakita akong anak nga nakahigda na siya didto (It was my son who died... we visited the morgue and found my son lying there), nakita nako akong anak naggawas iyahang dila, nagbula iyahang baba (I saw my son, his tongue was out and there were bubbles coming out from his mouth),” Saplot said while crying.
The next day, Saplot was asked to visit the Police Station again for her to know the details of the incident since there is a survivor.
“Ang akoa daw’ng anak pagkahuman daw og initiation, gipapahulay lang daw sila og kadali, pagkahuman gipabaktas laliman kag 500 meters to 800 meters ang gibaktas (He said that my son was only given a short time to rest after the initiation, then they were told to walk for 500 meters to 800 meters),” Saplot said.
She said the survivor called out the attention of their comrades that his son can’t walk properly due to the injury he had acquired.
“Kabalo ka unsay gitubag? ‘Sagdii na siya kay nag-inarte na lang na siya, wala ka nagku-an nga ikaw payat ka nga nakaya gani nimo siya nga tambok dili niya makaya?’ (Did you know what they said? Let him be as he was just acting.
You even survive although you’re thin and he can’t do it when he's fat?),” Saplot said.
Saplot expressed her dismay after finding out what his son had been through in the hands of the perpetrators.
“Lima daw ka sumbag, sagpa, pagkahuman Indian-pass, tapos naa pay katong paddle, belting pa. Isa lang na ka-oras, alas onse sila nagsugod nahuman pagka-12 (He received five blows, slaps, Indian-pass, paddle and belting. It all happened in an hour),” Saplot said.
The perpetrators are members of the Alpha Kappa Rho (Akhro) Alpha Delta Chapter fraternity and are now in the custody of the Mandug Police Station and eight of them who were arrested will face violation of the Republic act 8049 or Anti-Hazing Law. Meanwhile, six other suspects are still at large and the authorities are already searching and coordinating with the involved fraternity.
The PRO-Davao said that suspects will be facing life imprisonment if proven guilty in the death of the student.