Escudero: Aegis fratmen who planned ‘cover-up’ of Castillo death tarnished law profession

Members of the Aegis Juris fraternity who planned how to “cover up” the death of hazing victim Horacio “Atio” Castillo III have tarnished the reputation of the law profession, Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, a lawyer, said Thursday.

“Dinu-dungisan nila ang propesyon, ang legal na propesyon na kinabibilangan namin na mga abogado rin,” Escudero told reporters in a media briefing.

According to Escudero, the active and aspiring lawyers who discussed in an online chat group how they would cover up the death of Castillo, a freshman law student, committed “moral turpitude.”

“Ang paglabag sa anti-hazing law at pag-commit ng murder, o bilang accessory ng murder, ito’y nagco-constitute ng tinatawag na moral turpitude,” Escudero said.

“[Ito] ay basehan para itong mga estudyante ng law ay hindi payagan mag-bar; pumasa man sila, hindi pwedeng maging abogado, at ground din yan for disbarment ng kung sino mang abogado,” he added.

Escudero is a member of the Alpha Phi Beta Fraternity at the University of the Philippines College of Law. 

During the Senate public order committee hearing Wednesday, the police said they were able to recover the conversation of some Aegis Juris fraternity members in a chat group created on the day Castillo was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Castillo died of “severe blunt traumatic injuries” after attending the welcoming rites of the Aegis Juris fraternity, a law school fraternity based at the University of Santo Tomas (UST).

According to the Manila Police District (MPD), it was clear that that objective of the fraternity was to “cover up, conceal, to avoid, and evade investigation and prosecution” based on the chat group.

According to Escudero, the chat group conversation may be used as evidence against Aegis Juris members.

“Maliwanag, at base sa chat nila, na ang intensyon ay ikubli ang krimen at itago yung mga liable talaga dito,” he said. — MDM, GMA News