We really tend to have short memories. Or we are just too lazy to remember.

Months after the death of Cris Anthony Mendez from the barbaric tradition called hazing, nothing much has changed. First, unlike the dispatch shown by the ever consistent Philippine National Police on solving the Glorietta and Batasan blasts, no one has been charged with the crime. Very consistent. Second, most of the suspects are already in hiding or have already left the country. The guilty really hides from the truth. And the worst? It is all back to normal.

I have mixed feelings about the University of the Philippines. It is a bastion of student activism. It leads the charge against corruption. But it suffers from the proverbial pointing cliche – that when you point at someone, three fingers are pointing at you. And as they say in Tagalog, “Bago mo husgahan ang kapwa mo, tingnan mo muna ang sarili mo.” I really want to say that to all members of the UP community. Remember all those candles? All those marches? All those talks of remembering, etc, yada yada? Yet what have you to show?

Fraternities in UP are tumors that are hard to remove.

I am troubled by what my sources in UP Diliman have told me. Some of them said the same things, some of them have verified facts, and some of them gave me rumors. I will be posting what I have learned here, and the rumors will be clearly marked as RUMORS until such time I have verified them through multiple sources.

Some of my sources told me that the Sigma Rhoans are back at their usual tambayan, at the Malcolm Hall parking lot, now that the outcry is gone. Remember that some news reports showed an empty tambayan right after Mendez’ death was announced, and remained empty when the outcry was at its peak. Now, they are back.

Delta Lambda Sigma sorority is also busy recruiting. Fact: DLS is the affiliate of Sigma Rho. Fact: DLS is disassociating themselves with Sigma Rho. Good for them.

RUMOR: Sigma Rho is again recruiting new lambs to be slaughtered. It is also rumored that the Sigma Rho are taking a closer look at the LAE examinees for possible recruits. One of the sources noted the irony that Cris Mendez would have been one of the examinees.

RUMOR: A UP College of Law professor has been kicked out, apparently being involved in CA’s case. Still verifying this rumor.

RUMOR: Other fraternities are taking advantage of Sigma Rho’s “absence” last academic semester. Scintilla Juris is rumored to be raring to regain prominence in Malcolm Hall. In what way, the sources did not say. Hopefully not by another hazing death. Or a rumble. Speaking of which…

RUMOR: A rumble is about to erupt soon. Several sources have shared this rumor, but some of them have refused to say who are the parties to be involved; some sources gave different names. But all of them agree that a rumble may happen soon.

RUMOR: It seems that a new Law dean is to be selected, and one factor that weighs in heavily on the selection is the issue of fraternities. It is a hot issue, some of my sources told me. Interesting bit, if true.

RUMOR: The most troubling, for its implication: Sigma Rho has a Cris Mendez defense fund large enough to buy several judges, if necessary. THIS IS A RUMOR. But to be honest, with the way CA’s case has moved, this is very plausible.

I will try to verify these rumors and seek more information from other sources.

Roundup of news on Cris Mendez’ case: Cris Anthony Mendez: The Search for Justice
Roundup of blog post on Cris Mendez’ death: The true barbarians of UP (UPDATED)

PS: If I die at UP, you know the reason why. ;P