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UST Law dean: 'My decisions went against the fraternity'

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MANILA - University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Civil Law Dean Nilo Divina on Wednesday distanced himself from Aegis Juris Fraternity, which has been tagged in the death of freshman student Horacio Castillo III. Divina, in a statement on Facebook, said that while he is an alumnus of Aegis Juris, he took a leave of absence when he assumed the deanship 8 years ago to show that he will not actively participate in any of the fraternity&#x27;s activities.&quot;As Dean of the entire Faculty of Civil Law, I knew that I had to remove any vestige or potential source of negative perceptions of partiality on my part. I can honestly say that I have discharged my functions without fear nor favor as in fact there have been a number of instances when my decisions went against the fraternity and its members,&quot; he said.Divina said he never authorized the use of his name or photo in Aegis&#x27;s recruitment materials. &quot;Neither was I aware of the existence of any brochure of the fraternity containing my name or photo,&quot; Divina added. He said he also implemented a policy banning the recruitment of freshmen by fraternities. &quot;That policy was inexplicably defied in the recruitment of Horacio,&quot; he said.&quot;Let me state, categorically: l will never tolerate or support violence. In the past, I did not hesitate to impose sanctions on members of fraternities, including Aegis, who figured in frat rumbles,&quot; he added.&quot;As a Dean, as a Catholic, and as a parent, the loss of Horacio&#x27;s life can never be justified and it is imperative that whoever is responsible will be brought to justice. I am making it a solemn commitment to personally champion the cause of Acio,&quot; Divina said.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/20/17/ust-students-mom-asks-frat-how-did-my-son-die">READ: UST student&#x27;s mom asks frat: How did my son die?</a></li></ul>UST has condoled with Castillo&#x27;s family and pledged to bring to justice those behind the incident. &quot;We express our profound sympathy and offer our prayers to his family for their pain and anguish--- a pain that we share seeing that the life of our very own student, with all of its aspirations and potentials, taken away because of a senseless act,&quot; the university said in a statement.The Aegis Jvris fraternity, likewise, promised to &quot;extend its utmost cooperation&quot; in the investigation. An autopsy report by the police confirmed Horacio died of a cardiac arrest due to massive injuries consistent with hazing. Horacio&#x27;s body was allegedly found dumped in a street in Balut, Tondo. The student was brought to the Chinese General Hospital, but was discovered already lifeless. Castillo&#x27;s family found his body at the hospital early Monday after receiving a tip from an anonymous text message.

MANILA - University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Civil Law Dean Nilo Divina on Wednesday distanced himself from Aegis Juris Fraternity, which has been tagged in the death of freshman student Horacio Castillo III.

MANILA - University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Civil Law Dean Nilo Divina on Wednesday distanced himself from Aegis Juris Fraternity, which has been tagged in the death of freshman student Horacio Castillo III.