By Vanne Elaine Terrazola
Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri on Friday lauded the arrest order issued against the 10 Aegis Juris members suspected to be involved in the death of law freshman Horacio "Atio" Castillo III.
Zubiri, a close of friend to the family of the slain University of Sto. Tomas (UST) student, said he is happy over the warrant of arrest issued by the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 40 against the fraternity members linked to Castillo's death.
Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri (Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN)
"I am happy to hear that the Manila RTC has ordered the arrest of the ten accused in the anti-hazing case involving the death of Atio Castillo," he said in a statement.
"After many months of listening to the enraging testimonies during the Senate inquiry, I now welcome the successive developments in the case that continue to give us hope that justice will be served to Atio’s family," he added.
The Manila RTC on Thursday ordered the arrest of Arvin A. Balag, Min Wei Chan, Jose Miguel Salamat, John Robin G. Ramos, Marcelino Bagtang, Jr., Ralph Trangia, Axel Munro Hipe, Oliver Onofre, Joshua Joriel Macabali and Hans Matthew Rodrigo.
They were officers and members of the Aegis Juris fraternity who were believed to have participated in the initiation rites that caused the death of 22-year-old Castillo in September last year.
The senator said he is also "proud" that the Senate, which conducted an investigation on the fatal hazing rites, had contributed to the "swift" resolution of the case.