MANILA, Philippines – After seven years, a Manila court convicted 10 Aegis Juris fraternity members for the 2017 hazing death of University of Santo Tomas (UST) law student Horacio “Atio” Castillo III.
Ten fratmen were held guilty beyond reasonable doubt for violating Section 4(1) of the old anti-hazing law, or Republic Act No. 8049.
The Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 11 sentenced the following 10 fraternity members to reclusion perpetua. They were also ordered to jointly pay Castillo’s family P625,000 in actual expenses and damages.
- Arvin Balag
- Mhin Wei Chan
- Axel Munro Hipe
- Oliver John Audrey Onofre
- Joshua Joriel Macabali
- Ralph Trangia
- Robin Ramos
- Jose Miguel Salamat
- Danielle Hans Matthew Rodrigo
- Marcelino Bagtang
Castillo’s hazing death is among the biggest and most controversial hazing cases in recent history. Officials of the University of Santo Tomas, including its law dean and Aegis Juris alumnus Nilo Divina (although he said he was an inactive member) were called to the Senate.
The Senate investigation led to the enactment of the 2018 anti-hazing law, a measure that Castillo’s family witnessed in person in the upper chamber.
Castillo, who was then a 22-year-old freshman law student, died due to hazing injuries sustained after he was punched and paddled for four hours in the initiation. There was an allegation that the fratmen waited 30 to 40 minutes before bringing him to a hospital — not the nearest UST hospital, but somewhere farther.
A fraternity brother, John Paul Solano, brought him to the Chinese General Hospital, claiming he was a stranger who saw Castillo’s body dumped on a pavement. Solano was convicted of obstruction of justice for lying that he actually assisted the paddlers in bringing Castillo to the hospital.
After a six-month probe, the Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted 10 fraternity members of violation of the anti-hazing law. The suspects originally faced a murder complaint on top of the hazing suit, but the DOJ dropped murder from the charges after it argued that the element of intent to kill was missing, saying that the fraternity members’ “intention was merely to inflict physical harm as part of the fraternity initiation rites.”
The Castillo family’s complaint against Divina was also dismissed by the DOJ.
While the passing of the new anti-hazing law after Castillo’s death was considered a milestone — it introduced new provisions stating that all forms of hazing are illegal and imposed additional penalties for those who plan and participate in the rituals — it has not stopped hazing deaths.
For instance, PMA cadet Dexter Dormitorio died in a hazing ritual in 2019. In August this year, the court found two suspects guilty of murder, and the other one guilty of violating the anti-hazing law.
Dormitorio’s case was the first conviction under the harsher anti-hazing law. – Rappler.com
