The hashtag #JusticeforHoracio started trending in Philippine social-media circles on September 17, 2017, upon the news that a first-year law student at the University of Santo Tomas was killed in a hazing incident.
Dumped on a sidewalk in Tondo: UST law freshman dead after hazing riteshttps://t.co/6omou71Zpe pic.twitter.com/GARr96sRbG
— The Varsitarian (@varsitarianust) September 18, 2017
The name of the student is Horacio Tomas III Topacio Castillo, whose undergraduate degree was in political science. What made this death notable to Filipinos was that he was of the educated class, in stark contrast to the countless murders of poor people overlooked in the country. His mother is a graduate of St. Scholastica’s College, while his father is an alumnus of De La Salle University. He was living in Lorenzo Village in Makati City.
1st yr UST Law student Horacio Tomas Castillo III was killed in a possible hazing incident by alleged members of Aegis Juris Frat |@dzIQ990 pic.twitter.com/nIUJpVHgP6
— CyrilleCupino (@CyrilleCupino) September 17, 2017
Horatio’s heavily bruised body was reportedly dumped on a sidewalk in Tondo, Manila. A passerby found him under a blanket and hailed a vehicle to rush the victim to the hospital, where he was pronounced DOA (dead on arrival). A reporter shared a photo on Twitter of his body in the morgue; it was distended and one arm had a full-blown hematoma. The police report noted that there were traces of cigarette burns and candlewax on patches of his skin.
The name of the fraternity he had joined is Aegis Juris. The dean of the UST Faculty of Civil Law is Nilo T. Divina, a touted member of the fraternity allegedly responsible for the hazing death. A little over a month ago, the dean was also in the news when he was fingered by the wife of COMELEC chair Andy Bautista as being involved in suspicious dealings with her husband.
