Aegis Juris leader: Hazing must be abolished

Aegis Juris leader Arvin Balag, who allegedly struck the final blow that rendered Horacio "Atio" Castillo III unconscious,  said Monday hazing as a form of rite of passage in some school organizations should be abolished.

"It should be defined po talaga and hazing should be abolished po,” Balag said when asked by Senator Panfilo Lacson during the Senate probe into Castillo's death about his recommendations on possible changes to the Anti-Hazing Law.

Castillo's parents--Horacio II and Carminia--thought so, too.

"I hope mawala na 'yang process na yan," said Carminia.

"It is senseless. You don't need it. After going through hazing, after becoming lawyers and when you look back you would say to yourself na 'you didn't do anything for you to become good people or defenders of this country.' It's not needed," Castillo's father said.

Balag's remarks came a week after he asked the Department of Justice to dismiss the criminal complaints against him, arguing there is no evidence that Castillo went through physical or psychological injury as a prerequisite for admission to Aegis Juris.

The Aegis Juris leader was identified by hazing suspect-turned-witness Marc Anthony Ventura as the person who gave the fifth and final paddle hit that rendered Castillo unconscious. Castillo, a student of the University of Santo Tomas, was later brought to the Chinese General Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Balag, who balked at answering questions as regards his leadership and membership in the fraternity at a congressional inquiry on the Castillo hazing case, is now detained at the Senate after he was held in contempt. — RSJ, GMA News