By Rep. Angelica Natasha Co BHW Party-list
As Chairperson of the House Committee on the Welfare of Children and vice chair of the House Committee on Health, I join in the condemnation of hazing in all its forms.
Dapat ring magkaroon ng special security protocols ang mga ospital at Philippine Medical Association kapag nakakatanggap sila ng mga pasyenteng malamang naging biktima ng hazing. Pangunahan dapat ito ng Department of Health (DOH).
The hospital protocols should include security procedures that will quickly kick in when hazing victims are brought to hospitals and clinics.
Sometimes the hazing conspirators include nursing, medtech, or medicine students who serve as first aiders and observers during hazing rites. The Commission on Higher Education should work with the health profession colleges on ethics measures to prevent hazing and safeguard the involvement of these nursing, MedTech, or medicine students in hazing.
Madalas sa mga hazing cases nagkakatalo sa autopsy o medico-legal findings at ng mga medical abstract. Depende kasi yan sa pagkakasulat ng findings at pagkagawa ng mismong autopsy. Kailangang magsagawa ng intensive training on hazing cases ang mga ospital at mga doctor, lalo na sa Metro Manila, Calabarzon, at mga lungsod.
The DOH and the Department of Justice (DOJ) should have a joint memorandum to make sure autopsies are properly conducted and autopsy reports are properly and ethically written.
There is also the delicate matter of the involvement of funeral parlors and embalmers. Quite often evidence is either lost, degraded, or tampered with during the embalming process. The embalming process and embalmers should be strictly regulated and monitored. This is another matter for the DOJ and DOH to jointly regulate. The police should have no role in regulating and monitoring the funeral parlors and embalmers.