Resigned Ateneo De Manila University men’s basketball team head coach Tab Baldwin appears before the National Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday, June 23.
MANILA, Philippines — Two members of the Ateneo de Manila University men’s basketball team drowned after being subjected to “intense physical activity” and hazardous sea conditions, the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) said on Friday, recommending hazing charges against former head coach Thomas Anthony “Tab” Baldwin and 10 members of the coaching and support staff.
The players, Rene Baterbonia, 18, and Divine Adili, 21, drowned in the waters off a resort in Dipaculao, Aurora, on June 8, during the second day of what was billed as a team building and training activity of the Blue Eagles.
READ: Hazing raps recommended vs Tab Baldwin, 10 others over 2 cagers’ death
“The PNP-CIDG recommends the evaluation, case buildup and preliminary evaluation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for violation of Republic Act No. 11053, or the Anti-Hazing Act against respondents who actually planned and participated in the hazing,” Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla announced during a press briefing.
Aside from Baldwin, 68, the 10 individuals recommended to face criminal charges are:
• Strength and conditioning coach Grant Dearns
• Strength and conditioning coach Caesar Vincent Javellana Elumba
• Assistant coach Dean Caesar Castaño
• Assistant coach Sandro Nicholas Romero Soriano
• Assistant coach Reynaldo Jacinto
• Student manager Paolo Manuel Maceda Adevoso
• Student manager Andrew Lorenzo “Drew” Bondoc Salud
• Physical therapist John Eric Quiambao Rueca
• Utility/ball boy Aris Ramos Pronce
• Utility/ball boy Joel “Boy” Palmiano Rapa
“Our past concept of hazing was limited to just initiations. But, here, the team building and training activity crossed over into hazing,” Remulla pointed out.
He said the antihazing law also included “forced calisthenics and exposure to the weather.”
“The victims were exposed to a hazardous open-sea environment characterized by rip currents, strong waves and varying seabed depths,” according to Remulla.
DOJ spokesperson Polo Martinez on Friday said that other “appropriate” charges, such as homicide or reckless imprudence resulting in homicide, may also be brought against Baldwin and the 10 others that “evidence and applicable laws may warrant.”
The recommendation from the CIDG would immediately undergo initial evaluation by the DOJ to determine whether the evidence from the police is enough for further proceedings.
Martinez explained that the charges would either be returned to the CIDG for further case buildup if the evidence is incomplete, or endorsed for preliminary investigation by the DOJ.
He said that the case would be handled “expeditiously and objectively” in accordance with appropriate procedures and laws.
Brian Tomas, the legal and legislative affairs chief of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), said that all the players at the Aurora activity woke up at 4 a.m. on June 8 and were instructed to run 4 kilometers.
“This was subsequently followed by intense physical games and punishment for losers in these games,” he added, without specifying the penalties imposed.
‘Prerequisite for admission’
The seawater training activity was conducted around 2:30 p.m., about the time the high tide was expected, Tomas said.
“It is clear from the itinerary of the players that they were subjected to intense physical activity,” he said.
Elaborating further on what hazing entailed, Tomas said it included “any act that results in physical or psychological suffering, harm, or injury … as part of an initiation rite or practice made as a prerequisite for admission or a requirement for continuing membership.”
He noted that 20 members of the Ateneo men’s basketball team were present at Dipaculao, but the team building activity was intended to choose only 17 who would be included on the final roster of players to be submitted to the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP).
According to Remulla, all 11 Ateneo coaching and support staff were present at the Aurora activity. “They were all on the beach. No one stopped it. No one questioned it. No one warned that it was dangerous,” Tomas said.
Baldwin allegedly knew that five of his players, including Adili, didn’t know how to swim. “And when he learned that they didn’t know how to swim, he shared information on how to handle rip currents,” Remulla said. “The problem here is how can you teach someone who doesn’t know how to swim how to handle rip currents?”
60 persons interviewed
Since the incident, police investigators had gathered 620 pages of testimonies and 320 hours of interviews from 60 individuals with 68 lawyers present during the course of the probe, he said.
Remulla said it was up to the DOJ whether to proceed with the prosecution of the hazing case and whether other individuals, such as the first responders, would also be charged.
Aurora Provincial Police Office director Col. Percival Pineda was relieved from his post by PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. following his remarks that there was “no foul play” in the deaths of Baterbonia and Adili.
CIDG Director Police Maj. Gen. Robert Morico III said that the Baterbonia family was aware that the police intended to recommend hazing charges against Baldwin and the 10 others.
“They were very cooperative and thankful,” Morico said.
Ateneo spokesperson Fr. RB Hizon, SJ, said in a statement on Friday that the school acknowledged the CIDG’s recommendation and respected the investigation.
“We also recognize that other investigations remain ongoing, and we will continue to cooperate fully with all competent authorities as they complete their respective inquiries, while the CIDG’s recommendation will now be reviewed by the Department of Justice, as provided under the law,” Hizon said.
Immigration watch
“We are confident that the facts will be fully and fairly evaluated through the proper process,” he added.
Baldwin, Jacinto, Castaño and Soriano are on an immigration lookout bulletin order. Their departure from the country would be monitored, but they would not be barred from leaving.
Remulla said that he would recommend a hold departure order (HDO) on Baldwin, who holds American and New Zealand citizenship.
He said he had told the coach, who has resigned, not to leave the country.
“I do not plan on going anywhere,” Baldwin responded, according to Remulla.
Earlier drownings
He also said that former Ateneo basketball players had disclosed that there were near drownings during past trainings, which Baldwin disputed.
Quoting from a June 19 investigation report by the CIDG, Remulla quoted Baldwin as saying that, “There was no incident that even created the idea of drowning.”
Former player Norman Aaron Black, however, recalled that during one training activity in Aurora in 2016, his teammates GBoy Babilonia and Ikeh Chibueze “nearly drowned … due to panic because GBoy was unable to swim.”
“I personally experienced an untoward incident to the point that I almost drowned and gave up. But Coach Yuri Escueta held my hand and helped me with a floating device,” Black told investigators, according to Remulla.
Babilonia stated that he, too, nearly drowned, but was saved by Baldwin himself with the help of a surfboard.
“For him to say nothing happened in the past, yet he himself rescued one of his players goes to show that he was fully aware of what could happen in Dipaculao,” Remulla said.
Baldwin has been the Ateneo men’s basketball team coach since 2016, leading them to three successive UAAP championships in 2017, 2018 and 2019, and another in 2022. The team, however, failed to reach the finals in 2024 and 2025.
In a nine-minute video statement on June 12, Baldwin accepted full responsibility for the tragedy, telling the families of Baterbonia and Adili that he failed in ensuring their well-being. He told them that he was deeply sorry for what had happened, admitting his failure as a friend and coach to the two players. —WITH REPORTS FROM KATHLEEN DE VILLA AND INQUIRER RESEARCH
