Ateneo says it requested Baldwin to 'refrain from making public statements' following Baterbonia, Adili deaths

The Ateneo de Manila University spoke about the silence of Blue Eagles head coach Tab Baldwin following the deaths of players Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili during a team-building activity in Aurora.

READ MORE | Ateneo recruit Rene Baterbonia, foreign student athlete Divine Adili die in drowning incident

In a statement on Thursday, the university said it had requested Baldwin to “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.”

“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,” he added.

Ateneo said it wants to focus first on meeting the needs of those affected.

“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.”

“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 added.

Baldwin, along with team manager Epok Quimpo, has gone on leave as Ateneo conducts an inquiry regarding the incident.

—Justin Kenneth Carandang/JMB, GMA News