Hazing killed Atio, MPD medico-legal report states

MANILA, Philippines — Horacio "Atio" Castillo III died due to severe injuries resulting from hazing, the medico-legal report filed by the Manila Police District reads.

On the resumption of the DOJ's probe on the hazing case of Castillo on Thursday, Horacio Jr. and Carmina filed their reply-affidavit where the medico-legal report of the MPD is attached.

The MPD serves as the public complainant in the case, while the Castillo couple, through counsel Lorna Kapunan, are the private complainants.

The couple pointed out that the MPD's finding that Atio allegedly had HCM "was only a provisional anatomical diagnosis."

"Respondents seem to have conveniently forgotten the other provisional anatomical diagnosis, namely blunt traumatic injuries, right and left upper extremities, and that same was still pending hispathological examination," the couple added.

Medico-legal report

According to the report, Castillo due to "severe blunt traumatic injuries, both upper limbs."

Also cited in the report are the following findings from a microscopic examination of tissue:

• Acute tubular necrosis and congestion, kidneys
• Severe pulmonary congestion and edeme, lungs
• Fatty Metamorphosis, liver
• Focal Autolysis, pancreas
• Normal Histology, brain, heart, spleen

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, at an earlier news conference, detailed the final grueling hours of Castillo in the hands of his would-be fraternity brothers.

Citing the sworn affidavit of witness Mark Ventura, Aguirre said that Castillo was punched for about an hour until his arms were black and blue and swollen.

It was also revealed that members of the fraternity took turns hitting Castillo with a paddle until he collapsed.

Several members of the Aegis Juris Fraternity, in their filed counter-affidavit, said that Castillo died due to a pre-existing heart condition "hypertrophic cardiomyopathy."

'HCM, not hazing, killed Castillo'

Believed to be Aegis Juris Fraternity leader Arvin Balag insisted in his defense that Castillo died with "grossly normal" kidney, which meant that the injuries he might have sustained due to hazing did not kill him.

The same defense was also cited by other members of the fraternity, John Paul Solano and Alexander Hipe.

"Simply put, there is no finding in any manner whatsoever that [Castillo] suffered multiple organ failure which is the reported common cause of death from hazing. Thus, the most likely proximate cause of the death of [Castillo] is cardiac arrest because of HCM, and not due to hazing," his counter-affidavit reads.

But the Castillo couple argued that the certificate of death of their son only cited HCM as a "provisional cause of death."

"The same document clearly stated that such finding was still pending hispathological result, which, in turn, declared that Atio's cause of death is 'severe blunt traumatic injuries, both upper limbs,'" the Castillo couple added.

This was even confirmed by Dr. Maria Cecilia Lim, a forensic pathologist from the University of the Philippines College of Medicine, during the Nov. 6 2017 Senate Hearing, the couple noted.

"(Lim) stated that 'I would agree with the impression of the Philippine National Police that the patient had an acute kidney failure, secondary to the rhabdomyolysis, secondary to the multiple blunt force trauma," the reply-affidavit further reads.