Horacio Jr.: Atio, we will miss you but you can now go to the light

(Family of Atio in their last viewing of his body. Photo by Divine Sanchez, Dapitan Post)

The remains of Horacio “Atio” Castillo III was finally put to rest at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque on September 27 as family, relatives, friends and supporters swore to continue their fight for justice.

The 22-year-old, who was a freshman of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Faculty of Civil Law, died of a heart attack from the hazing rites conducted by some Aegis Juris Fraternity members.

“I will get justice for Atio, even [when] he’s gone [and I] cannot bring him back,” Gerardo Castillo, Atio’s uncle, said in his message during the funeral.

A funeral mass was also held at the Santuario de San Antonio Parish in Makati before Atio’s burial, where his family and friends, together with his golden retriever, “Lega,” gathered to pay their final respects.

(Horacio Jr. in his eulogy during the funeral mass. Photo by Divine Sanchez, Dapitan Post)

In a eulogy delivered after the mass, Horacio Castillo Jr., the father of Atio, told his son not to worry and that his family was letting him go.

“Atio, we will miss you but you can now go to the light,” Horacio Jr. said.

Meanwhile, Fr. Winston Cabading, O.P., who presided the mass, encouraged everyone to remain hopeful despite the tragedy.

“Hope will prevail over darkness,” Cabading said.

“How many deaths should there be before we realize that there’s something wrong in a brotherhood that seeks to harm in order to bond?” Cabading added.

Everyone that was present at the interment bid Atio goodbye as they released hundreds of butterflies into the sky.

Atio’s family, moreover, started a fundraising campaign to file a legal case against a “very powerful law firm.” The law firm is yet to be disclosed, according to Gerardo.