Aegis Juris member Mark Anthony Ventura during the Senate inquiry into the fatal hazing of UST Law student Horatio “Atio” Castillo III. INQUIRER PHOTO/LYN RILLON
For about four hours, at least 10 members of Aegis Juris took turns beating Horacio “Atio” Castillo III with their fists during his initiation into the fraternity.
The University of Santo Tomas law freshman was barely breathing when his would-be brods whacked his thighs five times with a wooden paddle, and he lost consciousness.
He was also made to swallow spittle during his weeklong psychological and physical tests as part of his initiation.
Tell-all account
Castillo’s ordeal that led to his death was disclosed by Aegis Juris member Marc Anthony Ventura in a tell-all account submitted to the National Bureau of Investigation.
In a news briefing on Wednesday, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said Ventura had been granted state protection under the Witness Protection Program (WPP) of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to ensure his safety.
He said Ventura was accompanied by his mother, Merlene, and lawyer Ferdinand Benitez when he gave his statement to the NBI on Tuesday.
“Mr. Ventura’s decision to seek admission into our WPP is a most welcome development in this case as we all endeavor to give justice to Atio’s untimely demise,” Aguirre told reporters.
“[He] gave us the names of the persons who were present during the initiation rites,” he said. “His declaration was very clear. He told us everything.”
Parents informed
Aguirre said Ventura “narrated to us what he knew about what happened to … Castillo from the time of his admission as a neophyte [in] the Aegis Juris fraternity until his initiation rites.”
The justice secretary said he had informed Castillo’s parents—Horacio Jr. and Carmina — of Ventura’s willingness to testify on what really happened during the four-hour initiation rites held inside the Aegis Juris library in the wee hours of Sept. 17.
According to Aguirre, Ventura did not say why he decided to testify against his fellow Aegis Juris members, some of whom claimed that Castillo’s genetic heart ailment caused his death and not the beating he received during the initiation rites.
Criminal case
Aguirre said Ventura, who was present during the hazing and until Castillo was taken to the hospital, submitted a sworn affidavit after meeting with him and some NBI officials.
Ventura, he added, told them that he was ready to resign or be expelled from Aegis Juris because of his actions.
The justice secretary expressed confidence that the disclosures of Ventura, one of the 37 people charged with murder and violation of the antihazing law in the DOJ, were enough to pursue the criminal case against the suspects in Castillo’s death.
He said Aegis Juris members had no idea that Ventura was already talking to him while some of them were attending the preliminary investigation of the case in the DOJ on Tuesday.
“If ever we need somebody else from among the persons present in the initiation rites, maybe we need just one to corroborate. But his declarations, without any corroborative testimony, I believe already will stand,” Aguirre said.
Hazing rites
Citing the initial information Ventura gave to the NBI, Aguirre said Castillo underwent violent hazing rites from around 1 a.m. until about 5 a.m. of Sept. 17.
“Supposedly part of the rites was to welcome the dawn with the new member who passed the initiation. [Unfortunately], they did not [get] to that part,” he said.
Aguirre said Ventura identified Axel Mundo Hipe as the “master initiator” who was supposedly tasked with controlling the initiation process.
Like any other neophyte, Castillo was supposed to be hit 11 times in his thighs with a wooden paddle, but he collapsed after the fourth blow.
“He was asked if he could still take it. His response was unintelligible. He was not responding [clearly]. He was just moaning,” Aguirre quoted Ventura as saying.
“After a few minutes, when they saw that Atio had regained consciousness, they struck him for the fifth time with the paddle. He really collapsed after that,” he said.
Panic
According to Aguirre, the fraternity members started to panic when they failed to revive Castillo.
They decided to call John Paul Solano, a licensed medical technologist, in a bid to revive Castillo, Aguirre said.
Ventura, he said, also disclosed that Solano, who claimed Castillo may have died due to a preexisting heart condition, injected something into the neophyte.
It was Solano who took Castillo to Chinese General Hospital, where the victim was pronounced dead on arrival.