The Department of Justice has been asked to dismiss the criminal charges filed against members of the Aegis Juris fraternity in connection with the fatal hazing of University of Santo Tomas law freshman Horacio Castillo III last Sept. 16.
Of the 37 respondents, 21 showed up before the DoJ for preliminary investigation hearing and submitted their respective answers to the charges of murder, violation of Republic Act 8049 or Anti-Hazing Law, perjury and obstruction of justice.
The respondents denied the allegations and asked the DoJ panel headed by Assistant State Prosecutor Susan Villanueva to dismiss the complaints filed by the Manila Police District and Castillo’s parents Horacio II and Carmina.
Among those who submitted counter-affidavits were the two primary suspects, frat members John Paul Solano and Ralph Trangia.
In his 29-page counter-affidavit, Solano said he was not present during the initiation rites held in their fraternity library and was only called by his frat brothers to help revive Castillo who was lying on the floor and unconscious with very weak pulse.
“The instant complaints should be dismissed for lack of probable cause because I have no active and direct participation in the alleged violation of the law complained of. In fact, at the time material to the complaint, I am not present in the alleged initiation rites of the fraternity,” Solado said.
He recalled arriving in the library with six fraternity brothers present – fraternity president Arvin Balag, master initiator Axel Hipe, Ojay Onofre, Mark Ventura, and Zack and Dan – and helping bring Castillo to the Chinese General Hospital.
Solano admitted that he lied in his first testimony submitted to the police that he only brought Castillo to the hospital after finding him in a street in Tondo, upon the instruction of Balag.
Solano, a licensed medical technologist and son of a doctor, also told the DOJ that he believes Castillo did not die from hazing but rather because of cardiac failure due to his pre-existing hypertrophic cardiomyopathy condition.
He cited the medico legal report showing that Castillo did not have kidney injury or failure.
“If indeed it is true that Horacio is a victim of hazing where he suffered from severe physical trauma, as a license medical technologist, I learned from my study that Horacio’s kidneys should have acquired some degree of kidney injury due to accumulation of myoglobin and the same could be a cause of acute kidney injury/failure resulting to multiple organ failure,” Solano argued.
Castillo’s mother rejected this allegation, saying her son had no such condition and was healthy.
“He’s a football player and very active. Before he entered UST, he was given a medical certificate,” she told reporters when interviewed after the hearing.
While Castillo’s father agreed that his son died of heart failure, he believes it was caused by hazing.
“What led to my son’s death was because of blunt trauma coming from hazing that caused extreme pain and suffering to my son that caused maybe the heart attack,” he said.
For this part, Trangia also denied taking part in the fatal hazing.
“From the foregoing, it is clear that the instant complaint was not supported by substantial evidence, which would merit a finding of probable cause to charge me of the crime of murder. The allegations of the complainant are merely founded on mere conjectures that are based on any proven fact,” his affidavit stated.
He also filed a joint counter-affidavit with his parents Antonio and Rosemarie denying the allegation of obstruction of justice by allegedly participating in the planning and execution, misleading authorities and facilitating the escape of the perpetrator, and that of the young Trangia himself.
Trangia argued that his mere membership in the fraternity and ownership of the vehicle that was used to bring Castillo to the hospital was a violation in itself.
“Mere ownership of a vehicle is by no stretch of the imagination a violation of P.D. 1829,” read the 14-page answer.
University of Santo Tomas law dean Nilo Divina and other 15 other fraternity members have yet to submit their answers to the criminal charges. They were given until the next hearing on Oct. 30 to file their counter-affidavits.