John Paul Solano, one of the prime suspects in the killing of University of Sto. Tomas (UST) freshman law student Horacio Castillo III, pinned down his fraternity brothers in Aegis Juris when he faced a Senate hearing on Monday.
Upon Senator Grace Poe’s questioning, Solano disclosed that a fraternity colleague, whom he refused to identify, called him and asked him to go to the fraternity library on the morning of September 17.
Asked by Poe who was the person who called him, Solano said: “I can’t say right now. I’ll say it on my affidavit since they filed multiple cases against me.”
Solano lamented that he surrendered to his fraternity and yet the group has still initiated the filing of multiple cases against him.
The suspect even invoked his rights against self-incrimination when Poe prodded him to name the person who phoned him.
John Paul Solano and Jason Adolfo Robiños, both members of the Aegis Juris fraternity, take their oath at the start of the Senate hearing on the fatal hazing of 22-year-old law student Horacio Castillo III on Monday, Sept. 25, 2017. (Photo by EDWIN BACASMAS / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
But when the senator insisted to at least confirm if the person who made the call was part of the fraternity, Solano said: “Yes po, I will confirm.”
“They just said na punta raw po ako sa frat library,” he added.
Solano said he did not go to the library right away until he received another call from the same person telling him that someone had “collapsed.”
At the library, he said, he saw someone lying on the floor.
“On the first look, he (Castillo) looked unconscious. The first thing I checked po are the pupils and the pulse. When I checked the pulse, I didn’t hear (anything) so I administered the CPR (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation),” Solano recalled.
His testimony was contrary to the affidavit he executed with the police that he had found Castillo’s body dumped on the pavement in Balut, Tondo in Manila.
Still under Poe’s questioning, Solano confessed that a fraternity member had directed him to say where he found the body.
In fact, Solano said some fraternity members were with him when he brought Castillo to the Chinese General Hospital.
“Bakit ikaw lang na-identify? So ikaw lang ang natagal sa hospital?” Poe asked to which Solano answered, “Yes.”
“Tapos noong tinanong ka sinabi mo na nadampot mo doon sa Balut Tondo?” the senator again asked.
It was at this point that Solano admitted: “Ang totoo po, your honor, they told me to say it.”
“Who told you to say it?” Poe insisted.
“A frat member that I would include in my affidavit,” Solano replied.
Solano was charged on Monday with a number of criminal cases – murder, obstruction of justice, perjury, robbery and violation of the Anti-Hazing Law – before the Department of Justice (DOJ) for the death of Castillo. /kga