Manila court convicts fratmen in Atio Castillo hazing

MANILA, Philippines (2nd update, 2:50 p.m.) — Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 11 on Tuesday, October 1 convicts the members of Aegis Juris fraternity who were involved in the hazing of University of Santo Tomas civil law freshman Atio Castillo in 2017.

The following frat men are convicted and sentenced to reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment: Mhin Wei Chan, Jose Miguel Salamat, John Robin Ramos, Marcelino Bagtang Jr., Arvin Balag, Ralph Trangia, Axel Munro Hipe, Oliver Onofre, Joshua Macabali and Hans Matthew Rodrigo.

The court also ordered the 10 accused to pay penalties of P461,800 as actual expenses, P75,000 as civil indemnity, P75,000 as moral damages and P75,000 as exemplary damages.

The frat men have been in the Manila City jail since Mary 2018 after the Manila court ordered their arrest.

The first conviction in the hazing death case occurred in 2019 when John Paul Solano, who transported Atio to the Chinese General Hospital, was found guilty of obstructing justice by the Manila Metropolitan Court Branch 14. He received a prison sentence of two to four years.

What went before

Castillo, a first year law student, had his final initiation rites for admission into the fraternity on Sept. 16, 2017.

However, during the initiation process in Sampaloc, Manila, he died in the morning of September 17 after several paddle hits from the frat members as a part of the group’s initiation rites.

Solano took Castillo to the Chinese General Hospital after collapsing during the initiation rights. But the civil law freshman, who received multiple paddle hits, was declared dead on arrival. 

The autopsy report identified the cause of death as  “severe blunt traumatic injuries” sustained during hazing.

His death resulted in several investigations by law enforcement and different government agencies. This case also triggered a Senate inquiry that probed the frat members of Aegis Juris and UST Law Dean Nilo Divina. 

In 2022, the 10 suspects behind Atio’s death sought to dismiss the criminal charges against them, claiming the prosecution had no sufficient evidence and that Atio 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 petition assailed a Manila judge’s refusal to inhibit from presiding over the case after the 2019 conviction of Solano.

Anti-hazing law

In the same year of Castillo’s death, a new law banning all forms of hazing was passed.

Republic Act 11053, also known as the Anti-Hazing Law of 2018, revises Republic Act 8049, the initial anti-hazing legislation enacted in 1995, in response to demands for stricter penalties for offenders.

Under the revised anti-hazing law, mere involvement in hazing, even without directly participating in the physical harm, makes an individual liable for violating the law.

Violators will face stricter 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.