Former Ateneo de Manila University head coach Tab Baldwin maintained that he is legally allowed to work in the Philippines without an Alien Employment Permit, with his legal team asserting that his permanent resident status exempts him from the requirement during a clarificatory hearing before the Department of Labor and Employment on Monday.
Baldwin, accompanied by counsels Daniel Darvin and Janella Flordeliza, appeared before the special panel led by Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino. The department is currently investigating his employment status following the June 8 tragedy in Aurora that claimed the lives of student-athletes Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili.
“We take the position that the Alien Employment Permit is not a requirement strictly applicable to our client in light of his permanent resident visa,” Darvin told the panel.
“Out of utmost caution, we take the position that the alien employment permit is not a requirement strictly applicable to our client in light of his permanent resident visa.”
The legal team also explained that while they continue to question the panel’s jurisdiction over the matter, they still participated in the proceedings through an ad cautelam appearance.
“Our appearance here is out of utmost caution,” Darvin said.
DOLE records, however, indicate that Baldwin has neither secured an AEP nor applied for an exemption from the permit. Under current regulations, foreign nationals who are exempt from obtaining an AEP are still required to secure a Certificate of Exemption — a requirement that became mandatory under a January 2025 memorandum.
Special panel officer-in-charge Gerard Mosquera noted that without the certificate, “He will not be considered compliant with the requirements of the law and regulations.”
Baldwin explained that he obtained his Alien Certificate of Registration in 2016 after receiving a permit when he began working for Ateneo de Manila University.
According to Baldwin, the lawyer handling his immigration documents at the time informed him that he no longer needed to secure an AEP because of his permanent resident status.
“I understand the importance of having rights, employment status. I am generally very fastidious about these sorts of things. However, I do not have a completed application form, a stamped application form, but to my recollection and to my habits, I would be very sure that I would have followed through filling out the AEP form. I just don’t have a recollection of what happened after that,” Baldwin said.
Tolentino responded that the panel intends to summon the lawyer Baldwin identified as having handled his immigration papers while he was working with the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas.
The hearing also revisited Baldwin’s lengthy coaching tenure in Philippine basketball.
Photo from FIBA Asia Cup
Baldwin testified that he first arrived in the Philippines in 2013 to serve as a consultant for then-Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes, a role he held from 2013 to 2014. He later took over as Gilas Pilipinas head coach from 2015 to 2016 while simultaneously serving as a consultant for TNT, a position he held from 2015 to 2020.
In December 2016, Baldwin accepted the head coaching position at Ateneo de Manila University, where he remained until his resignation earlier this month.
He later returned to coach Gilas Pilipinas anew from 2020 to 2021 while continuing to handle the Blue Eagles.
During the hearing, Tolentino pointed to what he described as a gap between Baldwin’s employment in the Philippines beginning in 2013 and the issuance of his ACR in 2016.
“This is now a hearing ad testificandum. There is a gap between 2013 and 2016, when Mr. Baldwin said a while ago, under oath, that he was working for SBP, as coach of the national team,” Tolentino said.
Baldwin’s camp requested additional time to review records covering that period.
“You may rest assured that Coach Baldwin had taken every effort, keenly necessary to make sure that his presence in the Philippines and his work here is lawful. However, respectfully, the information trying to be asked for us today, we cannot make it up,” Darvin said.
Asked whether Ateneo required him to submit work-related documents upon his hiring in late 2016, Baldwin said he was never informed of such a requirement.
“I am not aware of any requirements that Ateneo was asking for. I was simply offered the job, and I accepted it,” Baldwin said.
“He said there was a contract presented and he signed it.”
The men’s basketball program is directly supervised by the Office of the President of Ateneo de Manila University, headed by Fr. Bobby Yap, SJ. Baldwin’s salary was paid by the Office of the President rather than through the university’s athletics office.
The special panel directed Baldwin’s camp to submit the requested documents within 10 days, while officials of Ateneo de Manila University have been subpoenaed to appear when the hearing resumes on July 9.
