(UPDATE) GUILTY.
This was the verdict handed down by a Manila City court on Tuesday against the 10 accused in the death by hazing of University of Santo Tomas (UST) law student Horacio “Atio” Castillo III in 2017.
After seven years of trial, Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 11 Judge Shirley Magsipoc-Pagalilauan convicted 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, all members of the Aegis Juris fraternity.
They were all found guilty beyond reasonable doubt of violating Republic Act 8049 or Anti-Hazing Law due to the death of 22-year-old Castillo at the “welcome party” held by Aegis Juris on Sept. 17, 2017.
The 10 fraternity members were sentenced to reclusion perpetua, which carries a maximum sentence of 40 years. They were also ordered to jointly pay Castillo’s family P625,000 in actual expenses and damages.
They have been detained in the Manila City Jail since May 2018.
Castillo, then a 22-year-old freshman law student, died due to the injuries sustained from the fraternity’s initiation rites.
He was brought to the Chinese General Hospital in Manila by John Paul Solano, fraternity brother, who claimed he saw the victim’s body on the roadside.
Solano was convicted of obstruction of justice for lying that he actually assisted his fraternity brothers in bringing Castillo to the hospital.
The victim was pronounced dead on arrival. Based on the autopsy report, the cause of death was severe blunt traumatic injuries sustained during hazing.
Aegis member Anthony Ventura stood as a state witness against the accused after it was proven that he was the least guilty in the case.
Nilo Divina, UST College of Law dean, was among the initial respondents in the complaint filed by the parents of Castillo.
The Department of Justice (DoJ), however, dropped Divina from the charge sheet when it filed criminal charges against the 10 members of Aegis Juris.
In 2022, the 10 suspects sought to dismiss the criminal charges against them, claiming the prosecution had no sufficient evidence and that Castillo died of heart enlargement, not hazing.
The Manila court, however, junked their petition for lack of merit.
On Oct. 2, 2023, the Court of Appeals denied a petition for review filed by one of the fraternity members allegedly involved in the hazing of Castillo.
The death of Castillo resulted in the passing of a law that banned all forms of hazing.
In response to the calls for stiffer penalties for offenders, Republic Act (RA) 11053, otherwise known as the Anti-Hazing Law of 2018, was passed revising RA 8049, the first anti-hazing legislation enacted in 1995.
Under the revised law, those found to have been involved in the hazing process, even without direct participation in the physical injury, are liable for violating the law.
Those found to have violated the law face penalties of 12 to 17 years imprisonment and a fine of P1 million on participating officers and members of the fraternity, sorority or organization if proven guilty.
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