The Philippine National Police (PNP) has recommended filing hazing charges over the tragic drowning of two Ateneo de Manila University student-athletes after investigators discovered that non-swimmers were ordered into the ocean during a fatal training drill in Dipaculao, Aurora.
During a Friday press briefing at Camp Crame, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla revealed that a coach explicitly asked the team who could not swim before the water exercise began.
Five players admitted they lacked swimming skills—including Divine Adili, one of the two athletes who subsequently drowned. Instead of being sidelined for safety, the non-swimmers were simply given instructions on surviving rip currents.
“Alam niya na hindi marunong lumangoy, pero tinuruan niya pa rin paano mag-handle ng rip currents,” Remulla told reporters.
Remulla pinned direct awareness of the dangers on former Ateneo basketball head coach Tab Baldwin.
“Tab Baldwin was of full knowledge that this could possibly happen,” he said.
Expressing disbelief at the coaching staff’s judgment, Remulla questioned:
“Paano mo tuturuan ang hindi marunong lumangoy na mag-handle ng rip currents?”
The interior secretary clarified that of the two fatalities, only Rene Baterbonia knew how to swim. The other players who admitted they could not swim alongside Adili were Kiefer Alas, Ian Espinosa, and two unidentified teammates.
According to Interior Assistant Secretary Brian Mey Tomas, the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) determined that the trip crossed the line from a standard team-building event into illegal hazing under the Expanded Anti-Hazing Act.
Investigators uncovered that the Aurora camp was actually a high-stakes roster cut where 20 players competed for only 17 spots on the final UAAP lineup.
Witness testimonies, including accounts from assistant coach Louie Alas, indicated that the drills were grueling tests of mental and physical endurance rather than basketball training.
The athletes had been subjected to exhausting physical activities since 4:00 a.m.—including a four-kilometer run and disciplinary exercises—before being ordered into the ocean at around 2:00 p.m.
While Baldwin claimed the sea drill was timed for low tide, CIDG investigators found that official tide data for June 8 projected high tide at 2:27 p.m., exactly when the players entered the water. Minutes into the drill, powerful waves pulled multiple players out to sea, resulting in the deaths of Adili and Baterbonia.