Arrest warrants on wish list of hazing victim’s kin

For the family of Marvin Reglos, only one thing will make their Christmas celebration complete: seeing the people they believe to be responsible for his death finally behind bars.

“It’s taking too long. Some of [the suspects] remain free,”

Lucito, the victim’s father, told the Inquirer in an interview Monday.

Reglos, a San Beda law freshman, died of hazing-related injuries while he was reportedly being initiated into the Lambda Rho Beta (LRB) fraternity at a resort in Antipolo City last February.

Of the 20 people charged with his death, only two—Erick Castillo and Bodjie Yap—have been arrested so far and remain detained at the Rizal Provincial Jail.

One of the suspects, Eduardo Escobal II, the leader of the LRB fraternity, has been removed from the charge sheet after he reportedly died on Oct. 25.

According to a newspaper report, Escobal passed away due to cardiopulmonary failure after he suffered a severe asthma attack.

Lucito said that he heard about this through a TV news report although he quickly added that up to now, he had yet to see proof of Escobal’s death.

Raffy Apay, Reglos’ cousin, for his part said he was convinced that the LRB leader had died.

He added that a friend of one their lawyers had attended Escobal’s necrological rites in Sucat, Parañaque.

“The friend told our lawyer that it was indeed Escobal who died,” Apay said.

Warrants of arrest, meanwhile, have yet to be issued by the Antipolo Regional Trial Court Branch 97 against the other accused, Lucito noted.

“I hope the court issues the warrants soon so that they can be caught and we can really have a merry Christmas,” the farmer from Pangasinan province said.

According to Lucito, he has received information about the whereabouts of some of the suspects but they cannot be arrested because Judge Miguel Asuncion has yet to order their arrest.

He said that as a result, it was possible that some of them may have already left the country, considering that they come from middle-class families with connections.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who studied law in San

Beda, is a cofounder of the Lambda Rho Sigma, the LRB’s sister sorority.

Apay, Reglos’ cousin, expressed the same sentiment.

He said their previous lawyer, Dennis Pangan, had considered asking Asuncion to inhibit himself from the case as a result.

The filing of the motion, however, did not push through after Pangan was replaced by another lawyer in July.

We just want the [wheels of justice] to move,” Lucito said.