Aguirre offers WPP for ‘hazing’ suspect Trangia, family

Contributed photo of Ralph Cabales Trangia

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has offered to place Ralph Trangia and his family under the Witness Protection Program (WPP).

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said on Tuesday that Trangia could be a “potential witness” conditional to the kind of information that he would disclose to authorities to resolve the murder of University of Santo Tomas (UST) freshman law student Horacio Tomas “Atio” Castillo III.

Aguirre welcomed the return of Trangia and urged him to “fully cooperate” and “tell the truth” in the investigation.

“While he may be a suspect as of the moment, depending on what he will tell our investigators, he could be a potential witness. And for this reason, the DOJ offers to him and to his family, the protection of our Witness Protection Program (WPP),” Aguirre said in a statement.

Castillo was a neophyte killed in an initiation rite of the Aegis Juris fraternity, an organization recognized by the UST Civil Law, last September.

“I encourage Mr. Trangia and his family to fully cooperate, to tell the truth and, as a future lawyer, to work for justice. And I again reiterate the DOJ’s invitation to anyone who knows anything about what happened to Mr. Atio Castillo to come forward and to tell the truth,” Aguirre said.

Trangia returned to the Philippines on Tuesday morning to face the accusations hurled against him in relation to the death of Castillo. He flew to the United States together with his mother, Rosemarie, on Sept. 19, or two days after Castillo’s parents recovered their son’s body at a funeral parlor.

“Those who do will find the truth liberating,” Aguirrre said. “You cannot live in lies and untruth forever. We are waiting for you.”               /kga