FRAT WAR...THREAT TO PEACE

[JopiaX]

---

daghan man sad ug maayo nga nabuhat ang among grupo peru unsaon man sad ang tan awon sa tao ang bati man nga benuhatan....wala tay mahemo ana..........pero I know nga hangtod karong ta TGP ug AKP nganha sa CIT init gehapon ngano mana na dihang dapita?wala gyuy maka pugong sa mga membro nganhaOi pagmata na mo oi!!!!!!!May pa nganhe sa AMA kay walay gubot!!!!!

Hastang nindota......SKEPTRONS

[shadowkenshin]

these tau and akp cant be called fraternity,, but rahter be "GANG" coz this involves life which i mean involed death or threat to someones innocent life.... this should be iliminated IF ONE OF THE MEMBER ARE ALONE IN ONE SOCIETY THEY ARE AFRAID THEY JUST DEPENDS IN THEIR GROUPS,,,I SAY AGAIN THEY ARE NOT TO BE CALLED AS FRATERNITY BUT RATHER ""GANG""" AND PUT THIS IN ALL MINDS... THEY ARE THREAT TO OUR YOUNG ONE'S,,, THEY ARE BEING MISLEAD BY THEIR FOUNDER(S)

[LytSlpr]

dude, before you say these things do your research. this is only happening in Cebu which also comes as a mystery to us. the founders are not misleading the members, some members are just troublesome. just like in any organization such as the government, military, etc.

change your way of thinking! believe me, with a rash manner of thinking, presumptions & triggered with a sharp tongue can get you in trouble someday.

[sgt maj wildcards]

if then they are not mislead by their founders,,who will start to correct this people,,, who will tke the actions for this gang members who are now very violent,,isnt it the root,, they will start to correct this people so may thier name will not get dirt....

[FK]

LytSlpr: kumusta na to inyong registration? Onsa may punishment sa member nga magpabadlong... do you care to tell us?

Jopiax: bai gubot d i kaau ron ang C.I.T.? kay sa panahon namo dili baya.

[LytSlpr]

LytSlpr: kumusta na to inyong registration? Onsa may punishment sa member nga magpabadlong... do you care to tell us?

Cleanliness Drive, Nov 29
Registration, Dec. 7
Peace Rally, Dec. 8

[ChaosOrb]

fra·ter·ni·ty. noun.
[list=1][*]society for college men: a social society for men who are students at a college or university, with a name consisting of individually pronounced Greek letters. [*]people with something in common: a group of people with something in common, for example, being in the same job or sharing the same pastime.[*]brotherly love: brotherly love, or feelings of friendship and mutual support between people. liberty, equality, and fraternity[*]society formed for common purpose: a group or society formed by people who share the same interests.[/list:o]

Is today's fraternities conform to definition above? Some: YES, majority:NO. Ask yourselves(if you happen to belong to a fraternity), Is my group, helping me to develop my self to do good in my studies? Is my group helping the community? Is the people in my group inspire me to achieve more and aim high in my life, in my ambition?

If you can answer this three questions with a BIG yes, then you can be proud of your self and your FRATERNITY.

Now, let me ask you, is there a word like war, fight, vandalism, rambol, murder, guns, drugs, hazing in the definition of the word fraternity above?

nuff said!

*definition taken from Microsoft Encarta 2003

[LytSlpr]

Jail teaches former UP
fratman courage, honor
Posted: 1:26 AM (Manila Time) | Nov. 23, 2003
By Margaux C. Ortiz
Inquirer News Service

7 years of incarceration

HIS is a story about finding courage and honor in the most hopeless
of places.

Raymund Narag, 29, has gone a long way since he stepped out of the
Quezon City Jail in 2002 after seven years of incarceration.


Narag was a fraternity man accused of killing a member of a rival
fraternity in 1994. Today, he works as a peace volunteer at the
University of the Philippines where he is committed to helping reduce
fraternity-related violence. He has written a manuscript on
fraternity violence; it was published in Thailand last September.

Narag also works on a consultancy basis with the Supreme Court,
sharing his knowledge about the penal system and the distressing
condition of Philippine jails which he had experienced first-hand. He
has written several papers on the matter.

"After so many years of imprisonment, I feel like I'm an expert on
the subject," Narag says, laughing.

Narag and nine of his UP Scintilla Juris fraternity brothers were
charged with killing their schoolmate Dennis Venturina during a frat-
related attack on Venturina's Sigma Rho brothers in the UP Diliman
campus in December 1994. In February 2002, five of the accused were
sentenced to life imprisonment, and five, including Narag, were
acquitted.

When he stepped out of jail, Narag vowed to do two things: help
improve the deplorable penal system which fortunately failed to
destroy his humanity and win back his girlfriend, Shella Durana, whom
he considered the "love of my life."

"I remember telling reporters who interviewed me after I was freed
that I was going to win Shella back," Narag said. "I knew I was being
a little presumptuous, knowing that it had been quite a long time
since we broke up, but I had this feeling that we were meant to be."

The couple was together for nine months after Narag was arrested in
1995. Shella, a college freshman then, faithfully visited Narag at
the jail against her mother's wishes.

He set her free

Narag, however, decided to break up with her in 1996 after the judge
who had earlier handled the case denied his petition for bail.

"I lost all hope then, (Shella) was young and I did not want her to
be as miserable as I was so I decided to set her free," Narag said.

They remained friends, however, and a few months after he was
released from jail, Narag won Shella back.

"I had a few boyfriends after Raymund and I parted ways, but I always
knew at the back of my mind that he was the one for me," Shella said.

Marriage

They got married earlier this year.

"This might sound trite, but it's true: our memories together kept me
alive during the long time I was in prison," Narag said.

Shella, now a trade and industry analyst in Cotabato City, was with
her husband during the Inquirer interview. They held hands as they
recounted their relationship.

Scholar, cum laude

Before he was jailed, Narag graduated cum laude with a degree in
public administration.

This semester, he is due to finish his master's in public
administration studies. He is a UP presidential and National College
of Public Administration scholar and is applying for a scholarship
for further studies abroad.


"I feel that I've been deprived of an education for so long, I just
want to devour knowledge like there is no tomorrow," Narag said.

Valuable lessons

But Narag was quick to stress that he learned the most valuable
lessons in life behind bars.

"There was a time when I actually enjoyed being in jail and being
with the inmates because I felt I was of great use there," Narag
said, grinning.

"Jail taught me everything there was to know about honor, courage and
hope," he added on a more serious note.

Because Narag was a top student and a natural leader prior to his
incarceration, his fellow inmates eventually recognized his abilities
and made him the secretary of Kapit-Bisig 2000, an umbrella
organization of different gangs -- or brotherhoods, as Narag
preferred to call them -- inside the Quezon City Jail.

Teacher, paralegal officer

Through UP's volunteer corps Ugnayan ng Pahinungod, Narag became a
paralegal officer inside the jail, teaching functional literacy
classes and conceptualizing projects that would improve the lives of
the inmates.

"Pahinungod became my vehicle in reaching out to the other inmates
because of their educational, paralegal, psychological, cultural and
livelihood projects," Narag said.

"The Pahinungod volunteers were my contact to the outside world.
Because of my involvement with them, I eventually made myself believe
that I was not an inmate but a full-time volunteer," he added.

No Bail Band

Narag helped form the No Bail Band composed of inmates who had
musical talents. The band's song, "Hiram na Buhay," became a hit
during the execution of rapist Leo Echegaray in 1999.

He also established a center for pop music where the inmates honed
their musical skills.

He helped in fund-raising activities like the Munting Bulaklak ng
Mayo, which involved the inmates' children, the Miss Quezon City
Jail, and the Miss Gay Quezon City Jail.

As a result of the successful projects, they were able to buy four
computers for the inmates' functional literacy class and for the
warden's and the records offices.

Narag also conceptualized a computerized system to make the jail's
filing and records system more efficient.

Students, not criminals

Pahinungod volunteers helped facilitate the inmates' cases. They were
assisted by volunteer inmates who were trained by Narag.

"I always told the other inmates that we were not criminals but
volunteers and students," Narag said.


They even called the jail cells "dorms," and the inmates "dormers."

After only three years, Narag became one of the most respected
inmates at the jail.

The other prisoners would call him sir, kuya (elder brother), and
even tatay (father).

"I felt honored because the way they addressed me meant that they
held me in high esteem," Narag said.

Mini city mayor

In 2000, the inmates elected Narag as their mini city mayor, the
highest position for a Quezon City Jail prisoner.

Narag said he used his position to institute more changes at the
jail. He paved the way for the reconciliation of some of the gangs.
He was able to purchase new equipment like the jail's public address
system.

In January 2002, just as Narag was relishing his role as the
jail's "main public servant," he received word that the judge
handling the Venturina case was about to promulgate his decision.

Narag was then busy organizing the jail's Valentines' Day fund-
raising project.

"I found myself rushing to the jail's grotto, praying to the Lord
that He postpone my promulgation for two more days so I could see to
it that my project ran smoothly," Narag laughed.

"Then I realized that I was actually putting my freedom on hold for
my fellow inmates' sake!"

The decision, originally set for Feb. 13, was reset to Feb. 28.

When Narag was finally acquitted, his fellow inmates clapped and
cheered.

"They were happy for me because they knew I could help them more now
that I am free," Narag said.

Reconciling

Some time after he was released, Narag tried to reconcile with
Venturina's parents. But they told him they were not yet prepared for
it.

Narag said Venturina's father however told him to "make use of your
freedom properly this time," and Narag believes he has been doing
that for the past two years.

"I understand them completely. I know how painful it is to lose
someone or something you really cherish," Narag said.

Narag believes God had a reason for putting him behind bars. He
believes that God wanted him to help violence-prone fraternity men
avoid a life of regret and to inform people about the country's
pathetic prison conditions.

"I know some people think that my advocacy of trying to improve the
system is futile," Narag said. "I might not be able to change the
system, but at least I made a difference, small as it may be, in a
prisoner's life."

[PissKhanXXX]

this is a story of a man, just one of the many in fraternities, whom society despise without even knowing the whole being of the person; too much prejudice in the world.

[chilton82]

in the other countries,fraternities are very respected organizations.fraternities are the tools of improving oneself and improving the community as well.but the filipino views for a fraternity is that it is the tools of bringing destruction and chaos and violence into our country and i don't blame them.i mean we have seen how frat violence floods the news.we have seen how unruly things are when fraternities are involved.but its so unfair that the act of a few is generalized to be the act of all.im a fratman,a member of alpha phi upsilon and i say it would be unfair to generalize that fraternities are just for violence,on the other hand,i dnt blame the people who think that way,after all,we can see the violence ryt before our eyes.
good thing my fraternity isn't involved with frat violence.