5th paddle killed Atio – DoJ chief
THE Department of Justice (DoJ) now holds a vital witness to the hazing death of UST law freshman Horacio Castillo 3rd, tapping one of the top officers of the Aegis Juris Fraternity as a government witness.
Mark Ventura signed up for the witness protection program (WPP) at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, accompanied by his mother Merlene Ventura and lawyer Ferdie Benitez, and bared all that he knew about the September 17 hazing rites that killed Castillo, the DoJ said.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre 2nd told reporters that based on Ventura’s testimony, the initiation rites of the law fraternity started at 1 a.m. on September 17, and lasted for more than three hours.
Ten Aegis Juris men joined the brutal rites while others served as lookouts outside the fraternity library on Laon-Laan Street in Manila, including a female. There was drinking, and loud music blared.
- tion was he (Castillo) was punched on the arms…they had a term for it, hangganghindi pumuputoksakanyangbrasoaytuluy-tuloy
langsilangpagsuntok (they kept on punching until the arms swelled),” Aguirre said.
“When the arms swelled, they used a spatula to calm the muscles.”
After hitting Castillo with a spatula, he was hit three times with a paddle, Aguirre said. On the fourth time, the 22-year-old neophyte collapsed. The frat men used candle wax to revive Castillo.
“Third paddle against Atio, tinanongpa siyakungkayapaniya,sumagotpasiyana kayapa (he was asked if he was still okay, he said ‘yes’),” Aguirre said. “Fourth paddle…he collapsed already... nungnagkakamalayna,pinaddlengpan
glima,nagcollapseulitaposnaging panicky na members ng frat (when he regained con he collapsed again and the frat members panicked),” Aguirre said.
Aguirre said Ventura, listed by the Manila Police District as secretary and “master initia on Tuesday afternoon and was accompanied by his mother and lawyer.
“Mr. Ventura gave us the names of the persons who were present during the initiation rites of Mr. Atio Castillo 3rd. After hearing the narration of Mr. Ventura, I immediately decided to place him under provisional acceptance into the WPP,” he added.
formal admission into the WPP.
The WPP entry of Ventura is on the premise that he does not appear to be the most guilty of the crime, Aguirre said.
With his admission to the WPP, Ventura probable cause against other respondents.
“If we need somebody else from among those who witnessed the initiation rites, maybe we can admit one more witness to the WPP just to corroborate. But the clarity of his ( Ventura) declaration, even without any corroborative testimony, I believe that his statement will stand in court,” Aguirre said.
Prosecutors are still in the process of conducting a preliminary investigation to determine whether charges of hazing, mur against the suspects in court.
The MPD welcomed Ventura’s admission to the WPP on Wednesday.
“As long as he will reveal and divulge everything and also name those who participated in the initiation, it’s okay with us. As long as he corroborates the statements and evidence we have gathered and he would be able to identify the other persons involved in the planning and actual hazing,” said the MPD director, Chief Supt. Joel Coronel.
against 18 persons, including Ventura, Axel Munro Hipe and fraternity leader Arvin Balag for the death of their son.
Balag was cited in contempt during a Senate inquiry into Castillo’s death last October 18, and was detained at the Senate basement.
Solano hit for about-face
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian on Wednesday said it was clear the Aegis Juris Fraternity had “complete control” over John Paul Solano, who claimed on Tuesday in an affidavit submitted to prosecutors that Horacio Castillo 3rd died of a pre-existing heart disease, not hazing.
Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri berated Solano for trying to cover up the death of Castillo. “The people cannot be fooled by this quack who is simply out to save his skin and now hunting for a scapegoat by blaming Atio himself for his own death,” Zubiri said.
Sen. Francis Escudero said Solano was “not an expert” who could conclude that Castillo had heart disease.
While the immediate cause of Castillo’s death was cardiac arrest, the question was “what was the cause” of the cardiac arrest, Escudero said. “In this case hazing was probably the proximate cause,” he said.
Solano, 27, a medical technologist, was called in to the frat library in the morning of September 17 to revive Castillo. He later brought Castillo to the Chinese General Hospital, where the victim was pronounced dead on arrival.
Solano initially lied about how he found Castillo, telling police he accidentally found the law freshman on a sidewalk in Balut, Tondo and then hailed a red Mitsubishi pickup vehicle to take him to the hospital.
Police later found that Solano was a member of the fraternity, not a “good Samaritan.”
legal report that showed that Castillo had an enlarged heart. But Zubiri rejected Solano’s “alibi.”
“How can they explain the discoloration of the body due to massive hematoma?” the senator asked.
“How can they dispute the medico-legal Aegis Juris fratmen, which is illegal under the anti-hazing law?”
Sen. Joel Villanueva warned the Aegis Juris fratmen to tell the truth in the next Senate hearing on Castillo’s death, or else be cited in contempt. Worse, they may end up in Pasay City Jail as there was not enough room for them in the Senate, he said.