Tab Baldwin admits working in PH since 2013 sans alien employment permit

Resigned Ateneo men’s basketball head coach Tab Baldwin on Monday admitted to not holding an alien employment permit (AEP) despite working as a basketball coach in the Philippines since 2013.

Baldwin made the remarks during a clarificatory hearing of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on the validity of his employment status following the deaths of student-athletes Rene Clert Baterbonia and Divine Adili.

"I do not have nor do I believe I ever had a card like that. However, if I could clarify, in 2015, I did receive by e-mail an AEP application form partially filled out," Baldwin told the DOLE special panel.

"It is my habit to be very fastidious. Having lived in multiple countries, I understand the importance of having correct employment status. I am generally very fastidious about these sort of things. However, I do not have a completed application form but to my recollection and habits, I would be very sure that I would have followed through filling out AEP forms. I just don't have a recollection of what happened after that," he added.

Baldwin faced the DOLE weeks after he was issued a subpoena following the tragic Aurora drowning incident on June 8. He admitted to never applying for an AEP, saying his then-legal counsel told him his permanent residency would be enough for the employment requirement.

"Nobody ever advised me that I should not have an AEP card, I was only advised that a permanent residency visa would satisfy my employment requirements," he added.

Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino, meanwhile, said the special panel will summon Ateneo officials on July 9 for the continuation of the clarificatory hearing.

"At this point, the panel is constrained to issue a subpoena to the employer, the ADMU. The Clerk is directed to issue the same to the President or the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the university to appear on July 9 to continue this special panel's hearing before we conclude the same," Tolentino said. —AOL, GMA News