Parents of Aegis Juris fratmen ask NBI to keep sons in custody

After they surrendered themselves to the authorities, the parents of the 10 members of the Aegis Juris fraternity, who were charged over the death of a freshman law student Horacio “Atio” Castillo III, asked the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to keep their sons in custody and not to transfer them to the Manila Police District (MPD). (Photo by Benjamin Pulta/PNA Photo)

After they surrendered themselves to the authorities, the parents of the 10 members of the Aegis Juris fraternity, who were charged over the death of a freshman law student Horacio “Atio” Castillo III, asked the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to keep their sons in custody and not to transfer them to the Manila Police District (MPD).

In a letter addressed to NBI Director Dante Gierran, the parents of fratmen said their children “will not be safe under the custody of MPD.”

“The Manila Police District (MPD) is one of the complainants in the above entitled case and thus, MPD is not and cannot be an objective and independent custodian of our children, thereby posing imminent danger to the lives of our children,” the letter read.

According to the parents of Ralph Trangia, one of the accused, the MPD policemen “forcibly entered their house” last March 22, Thursday night, to arrest him without presenting an arrest warrant.

“In so acting, the operatives of the MPD did not present any warrant of arrest neither did they present search warrant allowing them to enter the house of accused Trangia,” the letter said.

They noted that MPD operatives and their higher officers who allowed them to “unlawfully enter” and search the house of Trangia are obviously “criminally and administratively liable” for what they did.

Due to this, the Trangias said they plan to file appropriate criminal and administrative complaints against the MPD operatives and their higher officers before the Office of the Ombudsman for Military and Other Law Enforcement Officers (MOLEO).

“From the foregoing, it is quite clear that our children will not be safe under the custody of MPD. We wish that you will not place the safety and lives of our children under imminent danger by allowing the transfer of their custody to MPD,” the parents continued.

The 10 accused Aegis Juris members surrendered to the NBI on March 23, Friday.

Ten members namely Marcelino Bagtang, Jr., Arvin Balag, Mhiin Wei Chan, Joshua Joriel Macabali, Axel Munro Hipe, Oliver Onofre, John Robin Ramos, Hans Matthew Rodrigo, Jose Miguel Salamat, and Ralph Trangia were brought to the NBI compound.

“We will prepare a return informing the court of the fact of the arrest of the 10 named in the warrant and then the court decides, if the court says they stay with the NBI then we will keep them. If the court says we should transfer them, then we will transfer them,” NBI Deputy Director and Spokesman Atty. Ferdinand Lavin said.