The Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 11 convicted 10 fratmen of the Aegis Juris fraternity involved in the hazing case that led to the death of Horacio “Atio” Castillo III in 2017.

The Manila RTC promulgated the ruling on Tuesday, Oct. 1, seven years after the death of the UST Civil Law freshman.

According to the Court’s ruling, the 10 Aegis Juris members are sentenced to reclusion perpetua or 20-40 years of imprisonment.

The Court also ordered the fratmen to jointly pay the heirs of Atio worth 461,800 pesos for actual expenses, 75,000 pesos for civil indemnity, 75,000 pesos for moral damages, and 75,000 pesos for exemplary damages.

Mhin Wei Chan, Jose Miguel Salamat, John Robin Ramos, Marcelino Bagtang Jr., Arvin Balag, Ralph Trangia, Axel Munro Hipe, Oliver Onofre, Joshua Macabali, and Hans Matthew Rodrigo are the members who were convicted.

They surrendered last March 2018 for violating the Anti-Hazing Law as ordered and attempted to dismiss the criminal charges of the prosecution against them for “insufficient evidence” that was junked by the Manila RTC.

In 2019, John Paul Solano, the member who brought Castillo to Chinese General Hospital, was already convicted of obstruction of justice with a sentence of two to four years in prison.

Castillo died from “severe blunt traumatic injuries” after receiving initiation rites during the welcome party of the fraternity in September 2017.

Following the death of Atio, Republic Act No. 11053, or the Anti-Hazing Act of 2018 amending Republic Act No. 8049, was passed into law that prohibits all forms of hazing in fraternities, sororities, and organizations in schools, including citizens military training and citizens' army training.