The Public Attorney's Office (PAO) is offering free legal counsel to the family of a University of Cebu marine engineering student who allegedly died due to hazing in December 2022.
In a press conference on Thursday, PAO chief Persida Rueda-Acosta said Leny Baguio had requested legal aid from her office in connection with the alleged hazing that killed her son, Ronnel, 20, a Tau Gamma Phi fraternity member.
Other new members of the organization who were with Ronnel during the alleged hazing, according to Acosta, are now being contacted for their statements. They've arrived in Bayawan City, Negros Oriental Province.
She added that PAO is also gathering Ronnel's roommate's statement, who brought him to the hospital before he died.
Baguio was rushed to the hospital on December 18, 2022, and died the next day due to alleged hazing by Tau Gamma Phi members on December 10.
The victim's mother requested financial assistance from the University of Cebu, which denied her request, claiming Ronnel lacked insurance, and the fraternity was not permitted on campus. The hazing occurred outside of the university.
Acosta stated that her office has written to the university requesting an investigation into who was involved in the fraternity.
Baguio's death certificate listed the following causes of death: severe acute respiratory distress syndrome secondary to indirect lung injury, acute kidney injury secondary to rhabdomyolysis, and rhabdomyolysis secondary to multiple physical injuries.
