By: Dominic Adrian Veloso
The Department of the Interior and Local Government on Friday recommended the filing of charges against resigned Ateneo men’s basketball head coach Tab Baldwin and 10 other team staff members over the drowning deaths of student-athletes Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili.
In coordination with the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, government authorities identified the 11 recommended respondents as Baldwin; strength and conditioning coaches Grant Dearns of New Zealand and CJ Elumba; assistant coaches Dean Castaño, Sandro Soriano, and Jon Jacinto; student managers Paolo Adevoso and Andrew Salud; physical therapist Jerick Rueca; and utility/ball boys Aris Pronce and Boy Rapa.
Among the charges being considered are homicide and, primarily, violation of Republic Act No. 11053, or the Anti-Hazing Act of 2018.
DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla cited Section 14(a) of RA 11053, which states that the law “penalizes those who actually planned or participated in the hazing if, as a consequence of the hazing, death, rape, sodomy, or mutilation results therefrom.”
Remulla explained, “Ang dating iniisip natin ay ang hazing ay initiation lamang. Ngunit, dito, ang team-building at training ay nag-crossover papunta sa hazing. Ang hazing ay hindi lamang initiation; ang dating concept natin ay nagpa-paddle, hinihiya, at pinapahirapan.
“Pero ayon sa batas na revised nung 2018, hazing refers to any act that results in physical or psychological harm or injury inflicted on a recruit, neophyte, applicant, or member, that applies to the basketball team as a prerequisite for admission or continuing membership in an organization. Kasama dito ang forced calisthenics at tsaka exposure to weather,” he added.
DILG Assistant Secretary Brian Tomas — citing the testimony of one of the assistant coaches — said the team-building activity in Dipaculao, Aurora, was not basketball-specific but was instead designed to assess the players’ mental condition and toughness.
According to Tomas, the results of the activity would help determine which players would make the Ateneo Blue Eagles’ final roster for the UAAP Season 89 men’s basketball tournament scheduled to begin in September.
“The second element provides that there should be a prerequisite, continued membership, or admission to an organization,” Tomas said.
“The evidence that was acquired and obtained by the CIDG [shows] that the supposed team-building activity that was conducted in Aurora was precisely made to determine which members of that team will make it to the final list submitted by coach Tab Baldwin to the UAAP Board. This is signified by the fact that 20 athletes were present during the activity, but that only 17 would be in that final list submitted to the UAAP Board,” he added.
Remulla also revealed that Baldwin was fully aware of the dangerous sea conditions in Dipaculao, Aurora, and had even briefed the team multiple times about rip currents before the activity on Monday, June 8.
CIDG Director Maj. Gen. Robert Alexander Morico II had earlier said the deaths of Baterbonia and Adili were not accidental, noting that Baldwin and the other organizers were fully aware that the sea conditions were unsafe, particularly for non-swimmers.
Tomas clarified that while the CIDG’s recommendation centers on the alleged violation of the Anti-Hazing Act, a homicide charge remains a possibility.
“Right now, the recommendation by the CIDG is to conduct a preliminary investigation for a violation of the Anti-Hazing Act, but this is still subject to such other offenses as the DOJ may find applicable and warranted under the circumstances. So hindi pa rin naman binibitawan yung posibilidad na ang ma-file sa kanila ay homicide,” Tomas said.
“Ito lang yung nakita ng CIDG base sa evidence na nakalap nila, pero ultimately, ang nagfa-file naman ng kaso sa korte ay ang DOJ, ang kanilang prosecution arm, so malalaman natin kung ano yung magiging evaluation ng DOJ. But definitely hindi pa off the table yung homicide as an offense,” he added.
The two-week investigation produced nearly 1,200 pages of testimony from almost 100 individuals, with both the CIDG and the DILG describing the evidence gathered as “conclusive” and expressing confidence in the strength of their case.
Baterbonia was laid to rest on Wednesday, June 24, in his hometown of Talacogon, Agusan del Sur, while Adili’s remains arrived in Nigeria on Thursday.
