THE University of Santo Tomas Alumni Association on Saturday denied that the school or the Faculty of Civil Law were involved in the hazing death of Horacio Castillo III, a first-year law student.
In a joint statement, the UST Alumni Association Inc. and the UST Law Alumni Foundation Inc. said the UST, a Catholic university, “abhors and condemns violence in any form, whether in our school or in our society. It is against our core beliefs. It is evil.”
The Castillo family have suggested they will file charges against Faculty of Civil Law Dean Nilo Divina, who is also a member of the Aegis Juris fraternity, and other school officials connected to the hazing incident.
But the alumni association defended Divina whose leadership, it said, “strongly exemplifies the Thomasian core values of compassion, commitment and competence.”
The association said no law faculty member would participate in the commission created by the UST to investigate Castillo’s death.
“We want the truth to come out, nothing more, nothing less,” the group said.
The group said there was no attempt on the part of the university to cover up the incident, and neither was protection or refuge given to anyone involved.
The alumni association said it was also seeking justice for Horacio.
It urged the involved members of the Aegis Juris Fraternity to come forward, cooperate in the investigation and face the consequences of their actions.
It supported Congress’ plan to revisit the Anti-Hazing Law “in order to prevent the occurrence of similar cases in the future.”
Castillo died on Sept. 17 of a massive heart attack after attending Aegis Juris fraternity’s “welcoming rites.”
His badly bruised body was brought to the Chinese General Hospital by John Paul Solano, who did not admit, until later, that he was a fraternity brother “following orders.”
Other than Solano, who surrendered to the police but was later released, the other 16 members involved in the case remained at large even as Castillo was laid to rest on Sept. 27.
Several congressmen have weighed in on the alleged hazing death and suggested that the school itself had a big responsibility in preventing such deaths.
Senator Panfilo Lacson said he found attempts to conceal certain details of the case.
Senate President Aquilino Pimentel also said the law had to be strengthened and schools should be further involved in the crackdown on frat violence.