Ateneo de Manila University announced on Thursday that men’s basketball coach Tab Baldwin was instructed by university administration to refrain from making public statements following the recent deaths of student-athletes Rene Clert Baterbonia and Divine Adili.
In an official statement, Ateneo President Fr. Roberto Yap, SJ, addressed growing public scrutiny regarding Baldwin’s absence from media discussions since the two players tragically drowned during a team-building activity in Dipaculao, Aurora on June 8.
“The University wishes to clarify that Coach Tab Baldwin’s silence following the tragedy was not a personal decision made independently of the University,” Yap said.
The university president explained that the directive was issued to ensure that ongoing investigations and fact-finding efforts could proceed without outside interference.
“The University requested that Coach Baldwin refrain from making public statements to allow the official processes to proceed and the facts to be established before any public discussion of the matter,” the statement added.
Public pressure had been mounting for Baldwin to comment on the incident, which claimed the lives of 19-year-old Baterbonia and 21-year-old Adili.
However, Ateneo emphasized that its immediate priority following the tragedy was offering emotional and psychological support to the basketball program.
“In the immediate aftermath of this heartbreaking loss, our guidance to Coach Baldwin was to focus his attention on the emotional and psychological welfare of the players, coaches, and staff affected by the incident, while also attending to his own well-being as someone who is grieving alongside the rest of the community,” the university said.
The administration maintained that engaging with the media while the community was actively mourning and while the details of the incident were still under review would have been counterproductive.
“At a time when our priority was caring for those most directly affected, we believed it was neither appropriate nor helpful to ask Coach Baldwin to engage in public commentary while the community was mourning and while the circumstances surrounding the incident were still being examined,” the university said.
Furthermore, Ateneo strongly rejected any implications that Baldwin’s lack of public commentary signaled a lack of empathy for the victims.
“His silence should therefore not be misconstrued as indifference or a lack of concern. Rather, it reflects the University’s decision to place care, healing, and due process ahead of public discussion,” it said.
The university expressed its full confidence that the ongoing inquiries would eventually uncover the complete facts of the incident.
“As the various inquiries proceed, the University remains confident that the truth, established through facts rather than speculation, will in due course provide the clarity and understanding that this tragedy demands,” the statement read.
Multiple investigations are currently underway by the Philippine National Police, the National Bureau of Investigation, and other government bodies to determine if criminal negligence or other liabilities played a role in the student-athletes’ deaths.