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A YEAR LATER: Aegis Juris to 'move forward' after Atio's hazing
By Kevin A. Alabaso and Marem A. de Jemel | Art by Jury P. Salaya
The Aegis Juris Fraternity had its eyes focused on upholding academic excellence in the University. Its founders, all successful lawyers, strived to establish the brotherhood as “the lawmaker factory.” But the hazing death of Horacio “Atio” Castillo III will forever put a stain on the fraternity’s image and 39-year history.
The Aegis Juris made it to the headlines in 2017 when the 22-year-old freshman at the Faculty of Civil Law died in the hands of its officers during its initiation rites.
The fraternity’s co-founder Edwin Uy said he advised the leadership of the Aegis Juris to form a crisis committee to handle the situation and to reach out to the Castillo family.
“[M]y mindset at that time is that if we will not be able to reach out to the family of the concerned person, this will be a very noisy incident, which happened,” Uy, a former congressional representative of Isabela, told the Varsitarian in an interview.
He said the Aegis Juris made efforts to coordinate with Atio’s parents but it was “very difficult for us to establish a connection because of the situation.”
“That’s the reality of life, you don’t just call them. You have to find ways in a manner that will more or less be acceptable for the family,” Uy said.
Henry Pablo Jr., a former “grand praefectus” or leader of Aegis Juris, said there were doubts as to whether Atio indeed died from hazing.
“Nalungkot [ako] kasi I was thinking, napasobra ba? I was asking myself bakit namatay [si Atio]. May mga brods kaming nagsasabi na ‘di naman daw [from hazing]. Medyo talagang mahina raw si Atio,” he said.
The parents of the slain Civil Law freshman have long refuted claims their son died of heart disease and not because of the hazing rites.
Horacio Castillo Jr. said his son was healthy upon entering the University, contrary to claims of lead suspect John Paul Solano that Atio died because of a pre-existing heart disease called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or the thickening of the walls of the heart due to enlarged heart muscle cells.
“Before [Atio] went to UST, the school requires a medical certificate. He was given a clean bill of health by the school. How could you say he has [a heart condition]?” he told reporters last Oct. 24.
Carmina Castillo, Atio’s mother, said he was a football player. “Wala siyang sakit sa puso. Palusot lang nila ‘yun.”
Pablo and Uy were among those tagged in the leaked Facebook group chat of Aegis Juris alumni-lawyers in October last year, formed after the news of Atio's hazing death broke out.
They, along with 21 other alumni-lawyers of Aegis Juris, were accused of involvement in a coverup. The Department of Justice dismissed the cases on March 6 due to "insufficiency of evidence."
Established in 1979, the fraternity, whose Latin name means “Shield of Justice,” started from a consensual dissatisfaction of 26 people against existing fraternities in the University, who hoped to found a new brotherhood specifically aiming to produce successful lawyers.
Its motto is: “Do no injustice, suffer no injustice.”
“We were hoping that we could join a fraternity in the Civil Law, pero wala kaming nagustuhan. Naisipan namin [bumuo ng fraternity] together with Omar de Peralta, who happened to be the first grand praefectus of the fraternity,” Pablo recalled.
Pablo served as the fraternity’s grand praefectus from 1980 to 1981, the third to assume the position in the history of Aegis Juris.
Uy, who first held the position of treasurer in the frat, said being in a fraternity back then was a "status symbol” for law students.
“There are those in the different government offices… since the time we founded this, there are about 400 of us already. We have fraternity members in the judiciary, judges, Court of Appeals, prosecutors and also in government service. We are everywhere,” said Uy.
Among the most notable alumni of Aegis Juris include Civil Law Dean Nilo Divina, Court of Appeals Justice Gabriel Robeniol and the late provincial prosecutor in Cavite, Emmanuel Velasco.
The two recalled that the Aegis Juris thrived not only with support but also from the intimidation and threats from other fraternities.
Uy said he considered the Atio case a “test of how strong our bond as fraternity members of the Aegis Juris is.”
“What we are saying is what happened was unfortunate. We didn’t want that to happen at all. We sympathize with the family,” he said.
The former lawmaker, however, said the 10 accused Aegis Juris fratmen facing charges for violations of the Anti-Hazing Law, might also become “victims of injustice.”
“I’m also concerned with our student members because we don’t also seek justice for them. They may also be on the other hand victims of injustice ‘di ba? Because as I’ve said earlier there are two sides of the coin. If it is proven that the victim died of hazing, then that's another story but if the victim died of natural causes then let’s give justice to the accused,” he added.
He said the Aegis Juris plans to carry out its programs while “adhering to the laws of the land,” especially with the provisions of the Anti-Hazing Law of 2018, also known as the Atio Castillo Law.
“Aegis Juris never ceases. We have plans. We may have to lay low a bit but the fire in us as founding members has always been there,” Uy said.
