Ateneo de Manila University clarified on Saturday that former men’s basketball head coach Tab Baldwin was never a university employee, but was instead brought on under an independent contractor agreement.
According to the university, this contractual setup was established nearly a decade before the recent tragedy in Aurora and is backed by formal written records.
The Jesuit-run institution noted that while the public widely perceived Baldwin as an official employee due to his lengthy tenure, his legal status was entirely distinct.
”Given Coach Baldwin’s longstanding stewardship of the Ateneo men’s basketball team, it is understandable that many assumed he was an employee of the university,” the Jesuit-run educational institution said.
”However, that assumption should not be confused with the actual legal nature of his engagement as head coach,” it added.
The school’s statement follows a resumption of clarificatory hearings by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) regarding Baldwin’s employment status.
Ateneo’s legal team detailed the arrangement during the proceedings, but firmly denied that the contract was designed to avoid liability.
”The arrangement was not presented to act as a subterfuge for the university to evade any form of accountability.”
Ateneo emphasized that its involvement in the DOLE hearings is part of its complete cooperation with the ongoing legal process.
The university reiterated its dedication to assisting investigators while pushing forward with institutional reforms following the June 8 incident in Aurora province, where student-athletes Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili tragically drowned during a team activity.