Ateneo forms independent panel to probe Baterbonia, Adili deaths

Ateneo de Manila University president Fr. Roberto Yap announced Monday that an independent fact-finding body has been formed by the university’s board of trustees to investigate the deaths of their student-athletes Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili.

“Ateneo de Manila is not evading accountability. For full clarity, transparency, and justice, our board of trustees formed an independent fact-finding body,” Yap said in a press briefing at Ateneo.

“[It is] composed of external highly competent legal and technical experts, who will operate entirely outside Ateneo’s administrative structure,” he added.

The panel’s findings and all recommendations will be submitted directly to Ateneo’s board of trustees.

Concurrently, Yap said that Ateneo will fully cooperate with other probes into Baterbonia and Adili’s deaths, and will remain “committed to the truth wherever it leads.”

“We also welcome and will fully cooperate with any and all investigations by civil and regulatory bodies,” Yap said.

Addressing ‘inaction’

In the press conference, Yap answered perceptions of inaction that Ateneo has received for not immediately releasing a statement on the incident.

“We believe and continue to believe that public relations or institutional noise should not intrude upon a family’s grief. We are truly sorry for not being quick at informing the public of the developments which have led to perceptions of inaction,” he said.

Yap added that the university cannot speak on behalf of or force individuals to speak on the matter, as the “persons who can shed light on the incident” are now themselves the subject of investigations.

Yap added that they want to respect these individuals’ institutional rights.

“While we choose not to immediately broadcast our actions, our commitment on the ground was immediate and full. From day one, the university reached out to provide full support to the families,” he said.

Yap said he he recognizes that what happened was tragic, and understands that hearing the word "accident" is painful for the families.

In his message, the university president stated that Ateneo offered to shoulder the round-trip travel expenses of Baterbonia’s family from Agusan del Sur.

The university extended the same assistance to the family of Adili traveling from Nigeria, adding that it will also shoulder the cost of repatriating his remains.

In a press briefing on Monday, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) said that it will subpoena Yap and officials of Smart Communications over the fatal drowning of the two basketball players during a team-building activity in Dipaculao, Aurora on June 8. — BM, GMA News