MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP–CIDG) on Wednesday said their investigation so far indicated that the fatal drowning of two Ateneo de Manila University student-athletes was not an accident.
“The incident did not actually happen in front of the resort. It was about 300 to 700 meters away. The recovery effort was only 300 meters near the resort because they were swept by the current,” CIDG director Maj. Gen. Robert Morico II said in a press briefing in Camp Crame.
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Asked whether the incident could still be categorized as an accident, Morico answered, “Right now? No, it’s not.”
Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili died after being swept away by a current during a supposed training exercise along the shoreline of Dipaculao, Aurora earlier this month.
The Aurora Provincial Police Office previously said the incident occurred some 300 meters away from a beach resort in Dipaculao, Aurora.
“They say they were walking and [doing] stationary jog to make their feet stronger while in water,” Morico explained.
At the briefing, Morico took note of Tuesday night’s podcast interview by journalist Pia Hontiveros with Ateneo players Kieffer Alas and Sam Reyes, who likewise nearly drowned during the Aurora incident.
“[The interview] corroborates our findings earlier before that the incident did not actually happen in front of the resort,” Morico said.
However, he noted, “Only two of them were speaking on the podcast, so we can categorize it as hearsay. We’re still on the way to asking the players that are involved and coaches. That’s the time we can make the necessary conclusions.”
Asked to confirm whether Alas and Reyes’ statements indicated confirmation that there were two other drownings apart from Baterbonia and Adili, Morico answered that investigators have yet to establish all players’ positions.
“But, that is the initial,” Morico said of reports that there were four total drownings. “We will know as soon as we are able to talk to the others who were with them in Aurora.”
“I guess it’s only safe to say the sea was very dangerous and the weather conditions during that time, including the tide, were not suitable for non-swimmers,” he added.
In the interview, Alas and Reyes described experiencing waves “bigger than them.”
Further, during a town hall in Ateneo de Manila University on Tuesday, player Jared Bahay described that the team had stayed in waters ranging from knee-deep to waist-deep.
Asked whether the team had been required to stand in the water at different depths, Morico said, “It wouldn’t serve the intent of the training… The distribution of the water pressure would’ve been different across the students and you are endangering some.” /das
