A member of the Aegis Juris Fraternity was convicted today for obstruction of justice in connection with the hazing incident that killed law student Horacio “Atio” Castillo III in September 2017.
The Manila Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 14 has sentenced fraternity member John Paul Solano to a minimum of two years and fours months and a maximum of four years and two months in prison. However, Solano was acquitted of committing perjury.
Castillo was a 22-year-old University of Santo Tomas (UST) law student who died of massive injuries following Aegis Juris’ hazing rites. An autopsy declared that Castillo died of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or thickening of the heart muscle. According to a police report, his body had bruises on both upper arms. Drips of candle wax were found in several parts of his body.
Solano’s conviction stems from his act of submitting two vastly different affidavits to explain how he found Castillo’s unconscious body. According to his first affidavit, he said he didn’t know the victim and randomly found his body on a street in Tondo, Manila on Sept. 17, 2017, CNN Philippines reported. After which, Solano said he flagged down a motorist and brought Castillo to the Chinese General Hospital in Sampaloc.
However, Solano submitted another affidavit to the court where he said that he was instructed by his fraternity brothers to bring Castillo to the hospital after the latter collapsed during Aegis Juris’ hazing rites held at the fraternity’s library in Sampaloc, reported The Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Solano said it was his fraternity brother Arvin Balag, one of the ten men who allegedly participated in the hazing of Castillo, who told him to tell the police that he found the victim’s body on a street in Tondo. Solano said he initially stood behind his first story because he feared that he would be implicated in the victim’s death, GMA News reported.
But the court dismissed Solano’s excuse. In its 27-page decision, the court said that it was “clear that [Solano] gave false and fabricated information to mislead the police or prevent them from apprehending those responsible for the death of Castillo.”
The court also said that nothing could have prevented Solano from refusing to follow Balag’s instructions or from speaking the truth to the police officers who were investigating the case.
Solano’s case is bailable and he can appeal his conviction up to the Supreme Court.
However, his 10 other fraternity brothers who allegedly participated in Castillo’s actual hazing have been in jail since last year. These are Balag, Mhin Weig Chan, Jose Miguel Salamat, John Robin Ramos, Marcelino Bagtang Jr., Ralph Trangia, Axel Munro Hipe, Oliver Onofre, Joshua Joriel Macabali, and Hans Matthew Rodrigo, reported ABS-CBN News. The men are waiting for the court’s decision on their case.
Meanwhile, Castillo’s parents are studying the possibility of filling obstruction of justice charges against other members of Aegis Juris, specifically, those who are part of a Facebook Messenger group chat where the fraternity members allegedly discussed how they could cover up the crime, Rappler reported. This includes the recently-elected Cavite province board member Kevin Anarna.
The Castillo family also slammed UST for their silence and inaction on the issue.
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