Senate probers have noted an apparent obsession in a Facebook chat among Aegis Juris fraternity members with concealing information instead of manning up for the fatal hazing of University of Santo Tomas (UST) law student Horacio Castillo III, or showing sympathy to his family.
At the resumption of the public order committee hearings into the case, Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson Sr. moved to cite in contempt alleged frat leader Arvin Balag for giving evasive answers and asked him and other frat members to undergo DNA tests to determine who were present at the scene of the initiation rites held at the frat house near the UST campus.
Testifying before the committee, Manila Police Chief Joel Coronel exposed the incriminating FB chat thread and vowed to submit the authenticated evidence at the next hearing to back charges for obstruction of justice against the UST fratmen.
Amid repeated invocation of the right against self-incrimination, senators were told that, while frat leaders issued instructions to let the police investigation take its course, Aegis Juris members were instructed to “deny it.”
Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian noted that the frat members’ refusal to testify on what they know lead probers to suspect “all of them were involved in hitting Atio [Castillo] with a paddle during the initiation rites.”
When asked to give DNA samples to establish who were at the scene of the deadly hazing rites, senators noted only Jason Rabinas and one other fratman agreed, indicating they were not present at Castillo’s initiation.
At one point, Sen. Grace Poe advised Balag, alleged Aegis Juris GP or Grand Perfectus, to man up as “you are doing an injustice to yourself.”
Poe also slammed the “code of silence” of Aegis Juris fraternity members, citing the fratmen’s refusal to fully cooperate with Senate probers, lamenting this was an injustice to the family of Casillo.
She, likewise, cited Aegis Juris president Balag in contempt for continued refusal to at least confirm whether or not he was a member of the fraternity that carried out initiation rites that killed Castillo last month.
Moreover, Poe warned that even the university, the UST itself, can be included in the fatal hazing case, and suggested that its law school dean, Nilo Divina, an Aegis Juris fratman himself, should “inhibit and take a leave of absence” while the case is being investigated.
But Divina told senators he already “came to the conclusion that I cannot abandon my students.”
Poe asserted, however, that “nobody is indispensable.”
The senator suggested the UST board should consider putting Divina on leave as law dean. “You might not have had a direct hand in what happened, but you loom large and there is really a conflict here. You waited from noon to 6 p.m. before attending to the student and delayed informing the parents of the victim. It is best to step aside,” Poe added.
In turn, Divina told Poe that, “I thought about that but I need to attend to my students.” He added: “I know we abolished paddling [frat neophytes].”
“I presumed there was no hazing,” Divina said. This prompted Poe to retort that “you should have investigated.” But Divina replied “there was no ground to do it.”
The law dean added, however, that a UST panel had already imposed a six-month suspension for all those involved in the fatal hazing rites.
Fratman Ralph Trianga, who briefly went to the US after the incident but came back to face probers, confirmed the six-month suspension. He, however, invoked his right against self incrimination when asked if he owned the vehicle used to bring the hazing victim to the Chinese General Hospital were Castillo was declared dead on arrival.
Senate probers took note of the FB chat thread among frat leaders on the “legal implications” of Castillo’s death acknowledging it “could be catastrophic if we don’t take care of the people involved.”
Before adjourning the hearing, Lacson indicated that the committee is mulling over amendments to the anti-hazing law, but the specifics still need to be reviewed.