Ateneo de Manila University clarified that head coach Tab Baldwin’s silence in the wake of the deaths of student-athletes Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili was made at the University’s request — not on his own accord or personal decision.
In a statement released on Thursday, June 11, by Ateneo president Fr. Roberto C. Yap SJ, the University said it had asked Baldwin to “refrain from making public statements” to allow official processes by national authorities and concerned agencies to proceed.
Baterbonia, 19, and Adili, 21, died on Monday afternoon after a drowning incident during a team-building activity at the Hermanos Leisure Farm and Surf Camp in Barangay Libis, Dipaculao, Aurora.
“The University wishes to clarify that Coach Tab Baldwin’s silence following the tragedy was not a personal decision made independently of the University,” the statement read.
“The University requested that Coach Baldwin refrain from making public statements to allow the official processes to proceed and the facts to be established before any public discussion of the matter.”
From the University’s perspective, Fr. Yap added that the immediate focus was to provide Baldwin — a 68-year-old mentor who has steered the Blue Eagles to four UAAP men’s basketball championships — with emotional and psychological support, along with the players, coaches, staff, and members of the Atenean community affected by the tragedy.
The statement also stressed that it was “neither appropriate nor helpful” for Baldwin to engage in public commentary while the community was still mourning and while the circumstances surrounding the incident were still being examined.
“In the immediate aftermath of this heartbreaking loss, our guidance to Coach Baldwin was to focus his attention on the emotional and psychological welfare of the players, coaches, and staff affected by the incident, while also attending to his own well-being as someone who is grieving alongside the rest of the community,” the statement read.
“At a time when our priority was caring for those most directly affected, we believed it was neither appropriate nor helpful to ask Coach Baldwin to engage in public commentary while the community was mourning and while the circumstances surrounding the incident were still being examined.”
Ateneo has since placed Baldwin and team manager Epok Quimpo on leave for the duration of the school’s independent fact-finding inquiry.
As of writing, the Department of Labor and Employment, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the National Bureau of Investigation, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group under the Philippine National Police, and the Department of Justice are leading investigations into the tragedy that claimed the lives of Baterbonia and Adili.
The Philippine Sports Commission has also formed its own Sports Stakeholders’ Panel, led by Chairman Pato Gregorio, Commissioner Fritz Gaston, Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas Executive Director Atty. Erika Dy, Commission on Higher Education Chairperson Shirley Agrupis, National Youth Commission Chairperson Jeff Ortega, and Department of Education Undersecretary Malcolm Garma.
“His silence should therefore not be misconstrued as indifference or a lack of concern. Rather, it reflects the University’s decision to place care, healing, and due process ahead of public discussion,” the statement read.
“As the various inquiries proceed, the University remains confident that the truth, established through facts rather than speculation, will in due course provide the clarity and understanding that this tragedy demands.”
