(Eagle News) — It was Horacio Castillo IiI himself who booked the Uber vehicle that took his things to his house in Makati minutes before he died.
This is according to the Uber driver himself who drove the vehicle and surfaced at the Manila Police District headquarters early Wednesday to clear his name.
In an interview with reporters, the driver, who refused to be identified, said Castillo booked the vehicle on Saturday afternoon.
He said he met with the 22-year-old behind the University of Sto. Tomas on Dapitan St.
A visibly shaken and sweating Castillo then instructed him to take his bag to his house in San Lorenzo Village, a directive the Uber driver was hesitant to follow at first.
But upon verifying that only school supplies were inside, he did what he was told.
“Nakita ko siya, binuksan niya ‘yung kotse tapos tinanong niya ko kung puwede ‘yung bag niya lang ‘yung ihahatid sa kanila. Tapos pumayag po ako basta titingnan ko lang ‘yung laman ng bag,” the Uber driver said in an interview with GMA News’ Unang Balita by Vonne Aquino.
“Ang bilin lang niya sa akin, pagdating ko sa kanila tawagan ko siya para magbukas ng pinto ‘yung katulong nila,” he added.
He said a maid who works for the Castillo family received the bag upon his arrival in the house.
He said he tried to ring up the UST law student, but that he appeared to be busy as he only answered his fourth call.
“Nu’ng dumating ako sa kanila, tinawagan ko nga siya. Siguro mga tatlong beses akong tumawag, hindi niya sinasagot ‘yung telepono, parang busy eh. ‘Yung pang-apat, sinagot na niya. Nagkausap kami, ‘yun. Mag-door bell na lang daw ako. Alam na raw ng katulong,” he said.
The Uber driver said he was willing to cooperate with authorities.
Castillo died of a heart attack as a result of massive trauma authorities believe he sustained from hazing rites done in the Aegis Juris library inside the UST campus.
Police are now looking for six persons of interest, including John Paul Solano, the medical technologist and UST student who claimed to have found Castillo’s body in Tondo, Manila over the weekend.
Solano–who claimed he then flagged down a vehicle that took the victim to the hospital—became a person of interest after barangay officials disputed his claim a body had been found in their area.
Closed-circuit television camera footage in the area also showed that no body was there at the time Solano claimed he found it, police said.