UST promises justice on law student’s death

(Horacio Castillo III. Photo grabbed from ABS-CBN news)

The University of Santo Tomas (UST) Office of Public Affairs (OPA) assured justice will prevail following the death of a 22-year-old freshman law student due to fraternity hazing rites.

“We condemn in no uncertain terms hazing in any form or manner. Violence has no place in an academic institution, particularly in the University of Santo Tomas that values and promotes charity and compassion. We will leave no stone unturned to ensure that the perpetrators be meted the appropriate sanctions and brought to justice,” OPA said in a statement.

Horacio Castillo III, a University of Santo Tomas Political Science alumnus, was pursuing law at the UST Faculty of Civil Law when he was recruited by the Aegis Juris Fraternity.

On Saturday morning, he asked permission from his parents to attend the fraternity welcoming rites at the UST campus.

“Ang Aegis Juris daw hindi bayolente 'yan. Nagpaalam 'yung bata may invitation daw 'yung Aegis nagpaalam 'yung bata: ‘Mommy, pupunta ako sa ano wala naman daw pong initiation, may welcome rites lang.’ Welcomed na raw siya,” Maricris Garcia, aunt of Castillo, told the Dapitan Post.

The next day, his lifeless body was found inside a bag lying on a pavement in Balut, Tondo by a bystander who took him to the Chinese General Hospital where he was proclaimed dead-on-arrival, according to CNN Philippines.

Horacio Castillo Jr., Castillo’s father, told ABS-CBN News that an anonymous text message had informed them about his son being rushed to the hospital.

An autopsy report from the Manila Police District confirmed Castillo died of cardiac arrest due to severe trauma from hazing injuries.

“Hindi ko na kaya. The bottomline is we can't have him back,” Castillo Jr. said in an interview with the Dapitan Post.

UST suspends fratmen

The UST Faculty of Civil Law on Monday released a memorandum order issued by faculty Dean Nilo Divina that “all officers and members of the Aegis Juris Fraternity are preventively suspended.”

The memorandum prohibits them from entering campus grounds and attending classes effective on September 18, 2017 until further orders.

Divina was also a member of the said fraternity.

Meanwhile, the Aegis Juris Fraternity released a statement and promised to cooperate with the investigation of the tragic incident.

In honor of Castillo, the Faculty of Civil Law Student Council on Monday evening initiated a prayer vigil at the UST Quadricentennial Park followed by a candle lighting ceremony where students gathered and mourned for their departed Thomasian brother. With reports from ANGELIKA ORTEGA