As reported before, hazing spree is happening at 6 th Regional Mobile Group. New members joining the folds of PNP personnel, who operates in insurgency affected areas in Negros Occidental, are reportedly welcomed not in ordinary fashion but in the so-called traditional reception procedure. I intend to call it traditional because the forefathers in the military and police service had passed through it and experienced the seemingly inhuman rituals before they could be considered full-fledged members of a unit or station. It is traditional because, despite the increasing number of anti-hazing advocates and even with the Anti-Hazing Law, the practice is still recognized and observed as indispensable element in testing the readiness of the would-be members to belong… to endure… to commune with the life… the future and the destiny of the group.

The so-called traditional reception procedure may defy the bar of human logic. Anti-hazing advocates are not convinced that inflicting harm to new members would end up to unbreakable camaraderie; rather, hazing has been viewed by this group as mere expression of perpetual retaliation that a member can do not to his senior comrades but to those whom they considered the lowest mammal – or the newcomers - in the group. It is a cycle… vicious it may seem!

Hazing is painful. The paddle, or may it be a baseball bat, leaves marks and bruises not necessarily to one's thighs but to the ego. And , probably, while wallowing on the pains of every beat, one can't help but make a promise to retaliate!

However, while we understand the perception of anti-hazing advocates, we must not also concede on the idea that hazing is bad or ineffective in achieving a desired purpose.   True, hazing is undoubtedly painful ; and, so too is giving birth. Giving birth, according to the testimonies of mothers, is one thing that they wished they never had. But , seeing how our population is growing, we can only wish our mothers didn't lie.

Joining the fold of 6 th RMG and giving birth are the same in different circumstances. To both, pain is inescapable. Like mothers, new members of this group must endure the pain to be deserving of the peculiar kind of brotherhood . Like mothers, newcomers in RMG will likely curse the day they chose to belong in the group. And , like mothers, they will realize later on that pain is not all in life.

Undeniably, many of us are alarmed upon hearing the reports that hazing still exists at 6 th RMG and even in PNP training centers. It surprises us when our new police officers are treated differently from what we expect they should be treated. We are surprised that despite the efforts to professionalize our PNP, barbaric practices still form an integral part of its tradition. But , it seems that we never bother asking why many police officers are easily hooked on illegal activities. It is because we also never bother asking why some women never choose to be mothers!

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