Don’t ask for help from your friends in high places, please.
This was the appeal made by a sister of hazing victim Marvin Reglos, a day before the resumption of the trial for two men accused of having a hand in his death.
In an interview Monday, Lorvie said that she hoped that the “high-profile case” of her brother, a San Beda law student who died in February due to injuries he sustained during hazing rites, would be resolved “fairly.”
At the same time, she called on two of the accused—Erick Castillo and Bodjie Yap—to refrain from using their links to powerful people to undermine the judicial process.
Both Castillo and Yap are members of the Lambda Rho Beta (LRB) Fraternity, the group Reglos was reportedly trying to join at the time of his death.
The LRB’s counterpart sorority was cofounded by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima.
“I hope that they will not use their (legal connections) and that the agencies concerned will also do their job properly. We are not a family of lawyers. We rely only on them (the agencies) (for justice to be achieved),” Lorvie said.
She made the appeal a few days after she appeared in the Senate and told members of the committee on public order and dangerous drugs that De Lima had failed to keep her promise to help her and her family.
A security guard of the resort where the initiation rites were held on Feb. 19 will take the stand Tuesday at Judge Miguel Asuncion’s sala in Branch 97 of the Antipolo Regional Trial Court.
Lorvie said that although generally, she was contented with the trial’s pace, she was concerned that the suspects’ political connections could affect the outcome.
“So no politics, no connections, no nothing, please,” she added.
Aside from Yap and Castillo, murder charges were filed against several individuals linked to the fraternity who were believed to have been present during the initiation.