Suspect bares Salilig's ordeal in hands of frat brods

A witness in the tragic death of an Adamson University chemical engineering student said members of the fraternity involved in the deadly welcoming rites considered  burning the victim’s body and even throwing it into a river.

According to John Consulta’s report on “24 Oras” on Wednesday, the suspect who is a member of the Adamson University chapter of the Tau Gamma Phi fraternity admitted to taking part in the rites that led to the death of third-year student John Matthew Salilig.

“‘Pag Adamson kasi kapag welcome, back to zero. Kasi ako rin po galing lang akong community, winelcome lang din ako. Repeat the process lang dun. Ang nawawala lang is yung mga rituals, paddle lang,” he said.

(They told us that in Adamson, welcome means you are back to zero. I also came from the community and was just welcomed. The process was merely repeated. They just removed the rituals.)

Citing a statement from the witness, authorities said the victim received at least 70 paddles from 18 individuals who took part in the welcoming rites conducted in Biñan, Laguna.

Salilig showed “warning signs” during the process as he vomited and even excreted while being hit. He survived the rites but experienced a seizure while on the way back to Manila.

Fraternity members tried to revive him but to no avail.

“Noong wala na talaga, sabi 'tol 'pag lumabas 'yan puputok tayo'. Sabi itago na lang. I-dispose na lang. Sabi nung isa dalhin sa ospital, sabi 'tol hindi na negats na nga eh'. Meron 'yung itatapon sa ilog, sa dagat, ililibing o iiwan lang,” the suspect said.

(When he died, someone warned us of the consequences if it became known. They said that we should just dispose of the body. One told them to rush him to the hospital but he was dead. They even said the body should be thrown into the river, sea, or buried.)

“Maraming fingerprints ang brod na nakahawak don kasi di siya nagpunas, di siya naligo after non. Nagpalit lang siya ng damit. Gusto sana sunugin pero di na ginawa. Pasensya uli kung late na akong lumutang. Sorry talaga,” he added.

(We have a lot of fingerprints on him because he only changed his clothes after the rites. Someone said the body should be burned but we did not do it. I apologize if I only went forward now.) —Sundy Locus/NB, GMA Integrated News