UST Law Student Dies From Cardiac Arrest Due To Hazing

A first year law student at the University of Santo Tomas (UST), Horacio Tomas Castillo III, succumbed to cardiac arrest due to injuries from hazing. According to an initial report from the Manila Police District’s medico-legal doctor, the 22-year old suffered injuries brought on by hazing activities as evidenced by hematoma in both of his arms.

GMA News reported what the doctor told the family of the victim after finishing the autopsy on Monday. She confirmed that it was indeed a case of hazing.

Law Student’s Family Calls For Justice

The family of the student, who was fondly called Atio, remain inconsolable. Father Horacio Castillo Jr. was in tears when he found out his son’s cause of death. He said that Atio asked for permission to join Aegis Juris, a known fraternity in UST’s College of Law. Atio also told his parents not to worry about the fraternity as it was accredited by the college. Some of the college’s faculty members were also members of the fraternity.

On Sep. 16, the fraternity held a welcome event which was supposed to be an overnight session inside the campus. Atio went to attend the event but did not make it back home. According to the report, law student John Paul Solano allegedly found Atio along a sidewalk in Barangay 133 in Tondo, Manila. This same person reportedly brought him to the Chinese General Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The family was informed of his death on the early morning of Monday.

Investigation Underway, Fraternity To Be Held Accountable

The MPD is conducting an investigation into the incident. According to an Inquirer report, the police will look closely at certain persons of interest, including Solano, the one who found and brought Atio to the hospital. In his sworn statement to the police, he saw the body along the sidewalk while he was out buying a cigarette. With the help of some bystanders, he said he brought the body to the hospital.

Barangay officials of Brgy. 133 however dispute Solano’s claims. According to them, no commotion was recorded during the time Solano claims to have discovered the body. They also say that if a body had indeed been found, residents in the area would have noticed and reported it immediately to the barangay. MPD will likely file perjury charges against Solano because of his conflicting statement.

The police are also looking into an Uber driver who reportedly brought the victim’s things to the Castillo residence in Makati City. The National Bureau of Investigation also launched its own investigation. UST is also conducting its own investigation and has suspended all members of the Aegis Juris fraternity.

UST Community Cries Justice For Horacio

The UST community also joins calls for justice. In a Twitter post by the Varsitarian, the UST Civil Law Student Council asked those responsible for this atrocity: “Did his death justify your sense of brotherhood?”

According to a series of Twitter posts by Your Lawyer Says, the bulletin board of Aegis Juris at the College of Law has been inundated by post-it notes with messages of condemnation along with calls for justice for Horacio.

Family Wants To Mourn In Private

The family continues their calls for justice as they mourn the loss of their son. They have also asked that they mourn in private, only allowing family and friends to visit Atio’s wake in Santuario de San Antonio Chapel.

ABS-CBN actor Richard Yap who happens to be a close friend of the family mourns with the Castillos. In an interview with ABS-CBN, he spoke about how much pain the family, particularly the father, feels for what happened. The actor, trying to hold back his tears, said that as a parent, he felt the pain they were going through. He added, “Nararamdaman mo sa tatay niya kung gaano kasakit na iyong anak mo na inalagaan mo ay papatayin lang just like that, for no reason at all.”

More students flock the bulletin board of Aegis Juris. Messages of condemnation and condolences continue to increase in number. pic.twitter.com/m0GdTS5y0E

— Your Lawyer Says (@YourLawyerSays) September 19, 2017