Ateneo ‘studying’ UAAP withdrawal next season

MANILA, Philippines – Ateneo de Manila University has yet to decide on its participation in the upcoming UAAP season following the deaths of basketball players Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili.

University president Fr. Bobby Yap on Monday, June 15, said the school is weighing its options, including a possible withdrawal from Season 89, which is set to kick off this September.

“With regards to the UAAP, we have yet to make a decision. We’re still studying the matter,” said Yap in Filipino in a press conference, which marked the first time he faced the media since the two student-athletes’ tragic death.

Ateneo already pulled out of the FilOil EcoOil Preseason Cup after playing just one game, where it coasted to a 72-52 victory over the Adamson Soaring Falcons on June 6.

Two days later, Baterbonia, 18, and Adili, 21, died from drowning during the Blue Eagles’ team building in Dipaculao, Aurora. 

“Our players have been dealing with the trauma for only a week. In fact, they are in deep grief. It does not make sense to let them play,” said Yap.

Multiple government agencies have launched probes into the deaths of Baterbonia and Adili, including the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). 

Former Blue Eagles head coach Tab Baldwin and former team manager Epok Quimpo, who resigned from their posts, were no-shows on Monday despite being subpoenaed by the CIDG. 

Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla said that only Ateneo athletic director Emmanuel Fernandez appeared before the CIDG among five members of the school’s management who were subpoenaed.

CIDG Director Major General Robert Alexander Morico II said on Monday that the agency learned that the Ateneo men’s basketball team is “allegedly autonomous and independently run by a foundation.” 

According to Morico, the said foundation is Smart Communications, a company whose chairman, president, and chief executive officer is longtime Ateneo patron Manny V. Pangilinan. 

“The program planning and funding are being handled by a foundation,” said Morico. 

Subpoenas, Morico said, will be served on officials of Smart Communications. 

“We will be issuing subpoenas on Smart to help us shed light also,” Morico said. 

The CIDG is also looking into the possibility of homicide or hazing in relation to the deaths of Baterbonia and Adili, who were, according to Ateneo, taking part in a conditioning exercise in the water when they were swept away by strong currents.

“As you can see, the Anti-Hazing Act of 2018 applies not only to fraternities, academies, or in organizations such as police trainings, it also applies to any organization or a requirement for continuing membership. Among the possible [violations] of this are forced calisthenics, exposure to the weather, or any other brutal treatment of forced physical activity,” Morico said in a mix of Filipino and English. 

Meanwhile, NBI Director Melvin Matibag said on Monday that they have also issued subpoenas on Baldwin and Ateneo players to aid their investigation. 

“We might finish the investigation within the week. We want to finish it immediately so that we can make an immediate recommendation,” said Matibag. – Rappler.com