MANILA — The Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) has recommended the filing of criminal charges under the Anti-Hazing Act against former Ateneo de Manila University men’s basketball head coach Tab Baldwin and 10 members of the Blue Eagles’ coaching and support staff, concluding that a fatal team-building exercise in Aurora bore the elements of hazing that led to the deaths of two student-athletes.
The recommendation stems from the deaths of Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili, who drowned after being swept away by strong waves during a team-building activity in Dipaculao, Aurora.
Investigators said their findings established a prima facie case for violation of Republic Act No. 11053, or the Anti-Hazing Act, and urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to conduct a preliminary investigation and case build-up.
The recommendation is without prejudice to the filing of other criminal charges that the DOJ may later determine.
Also named in the CIDG recommendation were strength and conditioning coaches Grant Dearns and Ceasar Vincent Javellana Elumba; assistant coaches Dean Caesar B. Castaño, Sandro Nicholas Romero Soriano and Reynaldo C. Jacinto Jr.; student managers Paolo Manuel Maceda Adevoso and Andrew Lorenzo Bondoc Salud; physical therapist John Eric Quiambao Rueca; and utilities Aris Ramos Pronce and Joel Palmiano Rapa.
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said the revised Anti-Hazing Act now extends beyond traditional fraternity initiation rites and may also apply to abusive training or team-building activities.
“Ang Anti-Hazing Act ay revised na po ‘yan… Ang dati pong iniisip natin, ang hazing ay initiations lamang. Ngunit dito, ang team-building at training ay nag-cross over papunta sa hazing,” Remulla said during a press briefing.
Remulla explained that the law defines hazing as acts that inflict physical or psychological suffering, harm, or injury on a recruit, applicant, or member, including forced calisthenics and exposure to harsh environmental conditions.
DILG Assistant Secretary Brian Mey Tomas said investigators found that the Aurora activity was designed to determine which players would earn spots on Ateneo’s final roster for the upcoming UAAP season.
“The supposed teambuilding activity conducted in Aurora was precisely made to determine which members of the team will make it to the final list submitted by coach Tab Baldwin to the UAAP board,” Tomas said.
According to Tomas, the CIDG concluded that the seawater exercise constituted hazing because evidence pointed to deliberate acts intended to inflict physical suffering on participants.
Tomas also disclosed that Baldwin admitted during his testimony before investigators that the June 7 to 12 schedule had been intentionally selected to coincide with low tide.
The investigation further found that players were awakened by a siren at around 4 a.m., ordered to run four kilometers, and then subjected to a series of physically demanding games. Those who lost were allegedly punished, circumstances that investigators believe satisfy the elements of the Anti-Hazing Act.
CIDG investigators also cited Section 14(a) of Republic Act No. 11053, which imposes severe penalties on individuals who planned or directly participated in hazing when the activity results in death, rape, sodomy, or mutilation.
Earlier, Ateneo de Manila University maintained that “no weights of any kind” were used during the team’s conditioning exercises in knee-deep seawater.
The DOJ will now evaluate the CIDG’s recommendation and determine whether formal criminal charges will be filed against Baldwin and the 10 other respondents./PN
