Artlets Regent condemns Horacio’s death, reminds Thomasians to be compassionate

The regent of the UST Faculty of Arts and Letters (AB) condemned the death of the law freshman Horacio “Atio” Castillo III in his homily in a Eucharistic celebration at the UST Seminary Gymnasium last Sept. 22.

Fr. Rodel Aligan, O.P. addressed his sympathy for the hazing victim Castillo III and emphasized compassion as one of the values that should be remembered and possessed by all Thomasians.

“I believe no Thomasian should be an enemy of another Thomasian. No Thomasian should do no harm to another Thomasian,” he said.

Aligan expressed his dismay over the alleged involvement of Aegis Juris, a UST law fraternity, in Castillo III’s death.

“If all of us have tried to be committed, competent, and compassionate, then why did we allow this thing to happen to a fellow Thomasian?” he said. “Why did we allow this thing to happen to Horacio? Why did we allow such brutality to cover the sense of Thomasian dignity?”

Fr. Rodel Aligan denounces the killing of law freshman Horacio Castillo III in his homily last Sept. 22 Photo by Ma. Agatha Fabricante

The regent cited St. Thomas Aquinas famous quote “justice without compassion is cruelty, but compassion without justice is also inutility.”

Aligan challenged the alleged involved Thomasians to repent and face the consequences of their actions.

“Kung tunay na Tomasino, lumabas na lang, harapin natin kung ano ang ating ginawa,” he said.

Castillo III, a Political Science graduate, was found on a sidewalk in Balut, Tondo last Sept. 17. He was brought to Chinese General Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.

The Mass was in cooperation with the AB unit of UST Pax Romana, UST Political Forum, and the UST Civil Law Student Council. Ma. Agatha Fabricante