Plea to dismiss Atio hazing case junked

MANILA, Philippines — A Manila court has rejected the petition of 10 fraternity members implicated in the death of University of Santo Tomas law student Horacio “Atio” Castillo III to dismiss the hazing case filed against them in 2017.

In a 10-page resolution dated Feb. 24, Judge Shirley Magsipoc-Pagalilauan of the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 11 denied for lack of merit the demurrers to evidence filed separately by the members of the Aegis Juris fraternity.

The defendants led by Arvin Balag, who was then head of the fraternity, are on trial for Castillo’s death in September 2017.

The other defendants are Jose Miguel Salamat, Joriel Macabili, Robin Ramos, John Audrey Onofre, Marcelino Bagtang Jr., Axel Munro Hipe, Mhin Wei Chan, Ralph Trangia and Dannielle Hans Matthew Rodrigo.

The court was not convinced with the arguments submitted by the defendants that Castillo’s death was not caused by hazing but due to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or enlargement of the heart.

They also claimed that the prosecution witness, fellow fraternity member Mark Anthony Ventura, gave inconsistent testimonies.

“The prosecution having established that Castillo died of hazing and that all the accused were present during commission of the crime, it is now incumbent upon the accused to adduce evidence to controvert that of the prosecution or that they prevented the commission of hazing,” the resolution read.

The court said that based on the evidence presented by the prosecution as well as the testimonies of the witnesses, initiation rites for Castillo were held at the library of the Aegis Juris fraternity in September 2017.