Suspect in death of UST law student surrenders to Lacson

September 22, 2017

One of the primary suspects in the death of University of Santo Tomas law student Horacio Castillo III surrendered to Senator Panfilo Lacson Friday afternoon. John Paul Solano was accompanied by UST Civil Law Dean Nilo Divina, who presented him to the senator's office in Taguig City. Lacson, a former head of the Philippine National Police, said he received a call last Thursday regarding the surrender of Solano. "I received a call from a former staff from Malacanang that he wants to surrender, I said no problem but I will surrender him to (Manila Police District Chief Superintendent) Joel (Coronel). I then contacted Coronel to come to my office," Lacson said in an interview with reporters. Lacson said he didn't give any assurance to Solano, "I just told him that he will not get hurt," he said. He added Solano wants to provide details during the formal investigation of the case. Castillo's body was found on a street in Tondo on Sunday morning, a day after he did not go home following an activity he was to attend at UST. In a press briefing, Solano said he was not involved in the alleged hazing. He was only called to "give medical assistance." "My involvement is to give medical assistance because they were (in) chaos that time. I was not there. They (just) need my medical assistance," he said. "More or less, he ( Castillo) is half-dead, I can't give final verdict that he is dead because I'm not a doctor. So he's unconscious, I did give him CPR and then when I can't do anything else, I brought him to the hospital," he added. Solano didn't give any comment regarding his affidavit but he apologized to Castillo's parents for misleading the authorities. "First and foremost, I would like to apologize for giving a false statement for that matter to the family of Acio and for the death of their son. I will shed light to this matter through my attorney." Asked why he decided to surrendered, Solano said the situation "is getting worse so I want to clear my name because I know I'm innocent." Though Solano surrendered, Coronel said he is still one of the principal suspects of Castillo's case. "As I explained to Paul and his counsel, our present investigation shows he is principally involved in the death and killing (of Castillo)," Coronel told the media. Solano was brought to Manila Police District after his surrender at Lacson's office for custody. MPD spokesperson Superintedent Erwin Margarejo said Solano may face perjury and anti-hazing law charges. Margarejo called the other suspects to surrender and shed light to the death of Castillo as hot pursuit operation against them is continuous. "I'm calling the other suspects, this is the right time for you to explained the incident," he said. Ralph Trangia, a suspect, left the Philippines for Taiwan on Tuesday, a day before the justice department issued an immigration lookout bulletin.

But a statement from the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office late Friday said Trangia  “.did not enter Taiwan."

"Instead, he went to Chicago, USA via Taoyuan International Airport by BR56 on September 19, 2017,” it said. Ella Dionisio/DMS