3 fratmen convicted in the 1994 murder of a UP student were allegedly released under GCTA

Five UP fratmen convicted in the murder of Dennis Venturina have been released, according to the report of Jun Veneracion on GMA News' Saksi on Thursday.

Three of the five convicted in the case were released under the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA).

Venturina was a UP student who died in December 1994 after he was attacked by members of a rival fraternity.

"Sinabi lang na release na," said the father of Dennis, Edgardo Venturina," adding that "Maski na latter wala, wala."

"Ang talagang sama ng loob ko lang, ako ang father .... walang information. Sabi ko, "Why the secrecy?" Venturina added.

According to the list of GMA News, it turned out that the release of the convicts was made possible under the GCTA.

However, only three of the five convicted in the Venturina case were included in the list of those released under the GCTA.

"Sabi ko reclusion (perpetua), e bakit nakawala yan?" said Venturina.

"I want them to suffer. Pero also, I follow the law, kung yun, di I'll take it in stride. Talagang ganyan, pero personally ayoko," he also said.

In a ruling penned by SC Associate Justice Mario Victor "Marvic" Leonen, the high tribunal affirmed the decision of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court that found five members of the Scintilla Juris Fraternity guilty for the murder of Venturina on December 8, 1994.

On February 28, 2002, the trial court found suspects Robert Michael Alvir, Danilo Feliciano Jr, Christopher Soliva, Julius Victor Medalla, and Warren Zingapan guilty of murder and attempted murder, and were sentenced to the penalty of reclusion perpetua.

The Court of Appeals on December 26, 2010 affirmed the guilty verdict.

Court records showed Ventura and six other co-members of the Sigma Rho fraternity were eating at the Beach House Canteen near the Main Library in UP Diliman when they were attacked by masked men with baseball bats and lead pipes.

Ventura shortly afterwards died at the St. Luke's Medical Center, while the six other victims survived. — BAP, GMA News