Ateneo to DOLE: Tab Baldwin a consultant, not an employee

Former Ateneo de Manila University men’s basketball team head coach Tab Baldwin is not a university employee and is only working as a consultant, the lawyers representing the university said on Thursday.

Lawyer Krisha Santos said that there is no employee-employer relationship between Baldwin and the university.

“A consultant, like Coach Baldwin, is a specialist and has discretion to perform the work in a manner that he sees fit, Your Honor. The university’s agreement with Coach Baldwin is a consultancy agreement and not an employment contract,” she told the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) during the resumption of the clarificatory hearing on the coach’s employment status.

DOLE Secretary Francis Tolentino, however, pointed out why Baldwin is receiving compensation such as housing and transportation allowance.

Santos responded: “Yes, your honor, there’s a consideration in an independent contractorship agreement, your honor.”

Likewise, lawyer Philippe Quimbo echoed that Baldwin wouldn’t render his services for free despite not being a university employee.

“It is very normal for an independent contractorship to have a consideration. Because I’m not sure Coach Tab would have done it for free,” he said.

Baldwin first arrived in the Philippines in 2013 to lead the Gilas Pilipinas - the country’s national basketball team. He was later tapped to help the Ateneo Blue Eagles in 2016.

The American-Kiwi coach is in hot water following the deaths of rookie Rene Baterbonia and foreign student-athlete Divine Adili during a team activity in Aurora province last month.

Baldwin’s training method has been questioned after former Blue Eagles described the Aurora activity as mentally and physically challenging.

For its part, the university maintained that it does not have direct control over the coaching method of Baldwin as the former is only working in a consultant capacity.

“We respectfully submit that, for your consideration, the Ateneo de Manila does not control the means and methods of how Coach Tab Baldwin conducts his training programs,” said Quimbo.

“The most important element in an employment contract is the power to control. And we respectfully submit, Your Honor, that Ateneo never had the power to control Coach Tab’s way of coaching,” he added.

However, Baldwin nor his lawyers were present during the hearing.

Permanent residency

Meanwhile, lawyer Dong Feliciano, whom Baldwin named in the previous hearing as the one who advised him that a permanent residency would suffice for him to work in the Philippines, appeared during the hearing.

It could be recalled that Baldwin earlier admitted to not holding an alien employment permit (AEP) despite working as a basketball coach in the Philippines since 2013.

The embattled sportsperson claimed that no one told him to secure an AEP card and was told that a permanent residency visa is enough.

Feliciano, on the other hand, admitted that he assisted Baldwin in securing a Philippine Quota Immigrant Visa - which grants permanent residency to foreigners whose home countries have diplomatic relations with the Philippines.

The lawyer said that it was the university that asked him to help in securing the proper visa for Baldwin.

“I’m not familiar with the contract between Ateneo and Coach Tab, your honor. Initially, Coach Tab was a coach of the national team, then he was going to be engaged as a consultant of Ateneo,” he said. “Then I was asked what is the proper visa for Mr. Baldwin, I advised that we get a Quota Immigrant Visa.”

When asked why he suggested getting a Quota Immigrant Visa, Feliciano said that Baldwin wanted to permanently reside in the Philippines.

“When we secured the Quota Immigrant Visa for Coach Tab back in 2015, we did not apply for an alien employment permit because it is our position that as a permanent resident, he’s exempted from the alien employment permit,” said Feliciano. –NB, GMA News