AFTER SEVEN years, the verdict on the suspects in the case of slain UST law freshman Horacio “Atio” Castillo III would be released on Oct. 1, his mother said.
In an interview with The Flame, Atio’s mother Carmina “Minnie” Castillo said the promulgation would decide the fate of the Aegis Juris fratmen charged for her son’s death.
“The ten charged with anti-hazing [were in] violation of the anti-hazing law [or] RA 8049 and penalty. That is what the court is deciding on, guilty or not guilty,” Carmina said.
“We express our gratitude and appreciation for the support of the Faculty of Arts and Letters… We would ask in prayer on October 1 as we await the justice that we deserve,” she added.
The Castillo family has also maintained communication with representatives of the Vatican to seek support regarding the case, according to Carmina.
Since UST is a pontifical university, it is under the authority of the Holy See, the government of the Catholic Church that operates from the Vatican.
Castillo, a graduate of the UST Political Science program, died on Sept. 17, 2017, a day after he sent a text message informing his parents that he would attend a welcome party of the Aegis Juris Fraternity.
Reports later revealed that Castillo endured punches and hits for four hours during the time he was supposed to be in the party. He supposedly collapsed and lost consciousness after he was hit for the fifth time.
According to reports, Castillo experienced performing the duck walk, being hit in the arms by a spatula, singing and dancing “Baby Shark,” drinking raw egg yolk while being told that it was the saliva of different fratmen, taking off his underwear and exchanging it with other people, and crawling and begging from his masters while a spatula was hitting his fingers during the initiation rites.
The fraternity members who were tagged in Castillo’s death are 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 and Marcelino Bagtang.
Shortly after the suspects pleaded not guilty in 2018, fellow Aegis member Juris Anthony Ventura agreed to be a state witness and testified against the suspects, who were collectively called “Aegis 10.”
A 46-page resolution, dated March 8, 2018, from the Department of Justice later charged all ten suspects for violating Republic Act 8049 or the Anti-Hazing Law.
So far, the Court of Appeals and the Regional Trial Court have rejected petitions from some of the suspects requesting for bail and demurrer to evidence or motion to dismiss the case due to lack of merit.
Last May, the Court of Appeals also junked the petition of Trangia, who was implicated in the hazing case, to overturn the ruling of the Manila Regional Trial Court to proceed with the trial.
According to Castillo’s mother, the accused have sought for the reconsideration of the case and claimed that the pieces of evidence were “not strong enough to carry out a conviction.”
“Both [the] Court of Appeals and the RTC junked all of those petitions that they [sought] out,” Carmina said.
The verdict will be announced at 1:30 p.m. at the RTC Branch 11 in the Manila City Hall.
UST Faculty of Civil Law Dean Nilo Divina has refused to give a statement on the pending case, saying it may “potentially exposing him to contempt” under the sub-judice rule. F
