Suspect in hazing death leaves PH

A suspect in the death of University of Santo Tomas (UST) law student Horacio Tomas “Atio” Castillo III has left the country, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said Thursday.

Lawyer Ma. Antonette Mangrobang, BI spokesperson, disclosed that based on the agency’s records, a certain Ralph Caballes Trangia left the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on Sept. 19 aboard an Eva Airways flight for Taipei.

He departed two days after Castillo’s body was taken to the Chinese General Hospital in Manila. Castillo was killed in the hazing rites of

UST’s Aegis Juris fraternity.

Trangia is one of 16 persons of interest named in an immigration lookout bulletin order issued by the Department of Justice. He was tagged by police as the driver of the red pickup vehicle that brought Castillo to the hospital.

Trangia is said to be a member of UST’s Aegis Juris fraternity in whose hazing rites Castillo was killed.

Mangrobang said the 15 other persons placed on the lookout list appear to be still in the country.

She, however, added that some of them have namesakes in the bureau’s departure records but there was not enough information to ascertain if they are the same persons included in the lookout order.

Meanwhile, the Manila police district said it has requested the DOJ to also include on the lookout list Antonio Trangia, said to be Ralph’s father in whose name the pickup vehicle was registered.

Meanwhile, Immigration Port Operation Division chief Mac Red Marinas also confirmed the departure of Trangia, with his mother Rosemarie Trangia, on Sept. 19 at around 1:53 a.m. via Eva Air flight BR-262 to Taipei. The flight has a connecting flight to Chicago, USA, Marinas said.

He said that Trangia’s name was not yet on the Look Out Bulletin of the Bureau of Immigration on that day.

Help of Interpol

Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police (PNP) will seek the help of the International Police (Interpol) to arrest Trangia who had been monitored to have left the country for Taiwan.

PNP chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa said they will also ask the Department of Foreign Affairs to cancel the passport of Trangia who was tagged as among those who performed initiation rites on Castillo as part of the admission process for Aegis Juris.

“If his passport is cancelled, he will become an undocumented alien in Taiwan and this will expedite the process of bringing him back to the Philippines. We hope that he is still in Taiwan,” said Dela Rosa.

For other suspects, Dela Rosa said it would be better that they all surrender than playing hide and seek with the police. He said operations to locate them all are ongoing.

“I am calling them to surrender. I know that you are not bad people you may have been just been carried away by the challenge of manhood in joining the fraternity,” said Dela Rosa.

Dela Rosa assured the family of Castillo that they would do everything they could to bring justice to their son.

“I am also a parent, I also have a son. I know how painful it is for you,” said Dela Rosa.

Trangia’s record with MPD

Meanwhile, at the Manila Police District (MPD), spokesperson Erwin Margarejo revealed that Trangia was involved in a commotion with another fraternity during the bar operations last November.

“May record siya sa General Assignment and Investigation Section (GAIS) na nakasama siya sa kaguluhan with another frat (He has a record that he was involved in a commotion against another frat),” he said.

A Manila Bulletin report showed that a commotion between Aegis Juris and Gamma Delta Epsilon broke out in preparation for the bar exam. The report showed that four people were wounded and Trangia, along with six others, is facing investigation.

Margarejo also said that the closed circuit television (CCTV) they presented to the media reportedly showing Castillo and Solano came from a “very reliable source.”

Earlier presented to the media was a CCTV footage which, he said, showed Solano, Castillo, and other alleged fraternity brothers walking along Dapitan Street near UST around 11:45 a.m. on Saturday, a day before the victim was declared dead on arrival at Chinese General Hospital.

‘Very tragic event’ Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Patricia Licuanan on Thursday condemned the death of Castillo III due to hazing and asked its regional office “to look into this very tragic event.”

During the Senate finance subcommittee’s budget hearing on CHED’s proposed budget, Licuanan was asked to issue the Commission’s stand on the death of Castillo.

“First of all, let me just say that we condemn this act very strongly,” Licuanan said. She said that CHED has not received any report coming from UST. “Basically, the school has not yet reported but we should be expecting that soon,” she said.

Licuanan said CHED has also asked its National Capital Region (NCR) regional office “to look into this very tragic event.” She explained that there is an existing CHED memorandum order on anti-hazing activities “that we regularly remind people of.”

In 2014, CHED reminded all private and public higher education institutions (HEIs) to be “vigilant” and “institute measures” for them to regulate the recruitment of members in various fraternities, more so, the initiation activities such as hazing after the death of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) sophomore Guillo Cesar Servando due to hazing by members of Tau Gamma Phi.

In July, 2012, CHED also condemned the death of Marc Andre Marcos, 21, a San Beda College (SBC)Alabang Law freshman who was found dead in Cavite after allegedly going through hazing conducted by Lex Leonum Fraternity.

In February of the same year, Marvin Reglos, 25, also a law freshman at San Beda College also died after allegedly sustaining injuries during hazing rites of Lambda Rho Beta in Antipolo City.

Despite the existence the RA No. 8049 or the Anti-Hazing Law, it remains a cycle of violence in the Philippines which leads to reported deaths of students – mostly those in the tertiary level.

Due to these hazing incidents, various groups have been calling for review of the 22-year-old Anti-Hazing Law which they claim as “no longer responsive and effective” in stopping fatal hazing incidents. (With reports from Ariel Fernandez, Aaron Recuenco, Jaimie Rose Aberia, Merlina Malipot)