The Philippine National Police–Criminal Investigation and Detection Group revealed on Monday that the Ateneo de Manila University men’s basketball program allegedly operates as an independent entity from the school’s University Athletics Office and is funded and managed by a sports patron.

This development added further context to the investigation into the deaths of Blue Eagles Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili during a team-building activity last Monday, June 8, in Dipaculao, Aurora. It has also triggered subpoenas against Ateneo president Fr. Bobby Yap, SJ, and officials of the said sponsor.

CIDG Director Maj. Gen. Robert Morico II said the agency based part of its assessment on information relayed through the university’s athletics office.

“The Director of the University Athletics Office of Ateneo de Manila, Mr. Emmanuel Fernandez, appeared personally to answer our questions,” Morico said in a press conference at Camp Crame.

“We also learned from the university athletics office that the Ateneo basketball team is allegedly autonomous and independently run by a foundation. The program planning and funding are being handled by a foundation.”

Morico added that they will still seek further clarifications from university officials as the investigation continues.

“We will also be asking him further questions when the students appear before the CIDG,” he said, referring to Emmanuel Fernandez. “We have spoken with the lawyers of the students, and they requested that instead of tomorrow, their clients — 22 of them — will appear on Wednesday, which we have agreed to.

“We are expecting them to appear on Wednesday.”

The CIDG also said it will subpoena Ateneo president Fr. Bobby Yap, SJ, and officials of the said patron to clarify the governance structure of the program and determine accountability over the team-building activity that led to the deaths of Baterbonia and Adili.

Subpoenas were earlier issued to more than 20 individuals within the Blue Eagles camp, including coaches and players, as part of fact-finding efforts and to determine possible violations of the Anti-Hazing Act of 2018.

“We will also confirm this statement with the rector of Ateneo, the president, Father Roberto Yap. That’s why we will also be issuing subpoenas to him,” Morico added.

(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team

The filing of subpoenas against the officials of the said patron and Yap came after former head coach Tab Baldwin and team manager Epok Quimpo failed to appear at the PNP-CIDG’s scheduled fact-finding hearing at Camp Crame, despite both being served subpoenas.

Baldwin was also notably absent from a separate hearing at the Department of Labor and Employment, where Secretary Francis Tolentino directed him last week to personally present a valid and current Alien Employment Permit, proving his authorization to serve as Ateneo’s head coach and that his permit covered the full scope of his supervision, including off-campus training activities.

Instead, the American-Kiwi mentor sent his lawyer, who presented Baldwin’s Alien Certificate of Registration rather than the AEP Tolentino had specifically required.

The non-appearance came hours before Ateneo accepted the resignations of both Baldwin and Quimpo, after the university previously placed the two on leave to preserve the integrity of its own fact-finding investigation into the deaths of Baterbonia and Adili.

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There is no truth to the social media narrative circulating online suggesting friction between Kieffer Alas and the family of the late Rene Baterbonia.

This was clarified by Joevince Eusebio, Rene’s agent and, coincidentally, Kieffer’s godfather, following a viral clip showing Alas approaching Rene’s mother, Rovelyn, during the Ateneo men’s basketball team’s visit to Rene’s wake at Arlington Memorial Chapels in Quezon City last Wednesday, June 10.

The video was uploaded by the Facebook page Mirayah, which is run by Baterbonia’s aunt, on Wednesday evening.

“Walang [katotohanan] yung mga issues na linalagay sa social media. Doon lang tayo sa kung yung totoo at sa alam ng family ni Rene Baterbonia,” Eusebio said during a press briefing held at the Ateneo de Davao University Bangkal Campus on Friday afternoon.

In his explanation, Eusebio said he personally introduced Alas—his godson—to Rovelyn during the Blue Eagles’ visit. What followed, he said, was a heartfelt exchange centered on a missed opportunity involving Rene.

Alas had earlier requested Eusebio, who also handles Phenom-New Zealand Creamery/Bluefire managed by Anthony Brodett, to have Baterbonia as his teammate in Phenom for the 2026 NBTC National Finals last March.

“Si Kieffer was there, pag-approach ni Kieffer sa mom, nagkwento sila. Pumasok ako doon kasi Kieffer is my inaanak, and I introduced him to the mother of Rene, I said: ‘Mommy, ito po si Kieffer Alas. Inaanak ko po siya.’ And when we played for NBTC in Manila, isa lang ang request na teammate ni Kieffer Alas — si Rene Baterbonia,” Eusebio explained.

“It was Kieffer’s request na makasama si Rene sa NBTC. That was a conversation down nung humarap kami sa mama ni Rene. Kaya lang, may mga ibang stories na lumalabas sa social media.”

However, Baterbonia ended up suiting up for Off-Campus Residences x Toyomoto – Ateneo de Davao in the NBTC after the 2025 Palarong Pambansa MVP helped his squad secure the last two regional wildcard spots in the NBTC Mindanao Regional Championship, preventing the two from ever playing on the same team.

The closest they came to sharing the court was during the All-Star Game of the 2026 NBTC National Finals, where Alas suited up for Team Heart and Baterbonia played for Team Hustle.

The two were widely regarded as cornerstones of Ateneo’s future in the highly competitive UAAP men’s basketball landscape, a trajectory cut short after Baterbonia, along with Nigerian teammate Divine Adili, died in a drowning incident last Monday during a team-building activity in Dipaculao, Aurora.

“Kaya lang, ang team ni Coach Jess ay nakapasok sa Mindanao Finals, kaya wala kaming chance na makalaro si Rene. That’s the story,” Eusebio stressed.

“Walang [katotohanan] yung mga issues na linalagay sa social media.”

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Ateneo de Manila University head coach Tab Baldwin admitted Friday evening that he had failed as a leader, coach, and friend to deceased Blue Eagles players Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili, who both passed away during a team-building activity in Dipaculao, Aurora last Monday.

The address marked Baldwin’s first public statement in over four days since the passing of Baterbonia and Adili on June 8, a delay that ultimately prompted Philippine Sports Commission chairman Pato Gregorio to publicly urge the American-Kiwi coach to speak out.

“At that moment, I felt that I had failed. I failed as a leader. I felt I had failed as a coach. I certainly felt like I had failed as a friend to Divine and Rene. And when later I faced the team to try to be a leader in that moment, I felt that I failed them, too,” Baldwin said.

Baldwin explained that what began as a routine conditioning exercise turned fatal, as players were sent out for what they believed was a simple training run in shallow water.

However, the situation took a turn for the worse when Baldwin and his coaching staff realized the athletes were already caught in deeper, dangerous currents.

“On that fateful day when we sent the players out for a routine training run and what we thought was shallow water, up to the moment when we realized that whatever had happened, they were in dangerous water,” Baldwin said.

“And we did everything that we could as coaches, as people responsible for that situation. The players themselves did everything they could to ensure that everybody arrived back on shore safely. And then we realized that we hadn’t accomplished that,” he added.

Baldwin also spoke at length about the weight of his responsibility to the families of Baterbonia and Adili, acknowledging that while he grieved as a mentor and friend, the depth of the families’ loss far surpassed his own.

Both families have expressed disappointment over how Ateneo, particularly Baldwin, has handled the situation.

Rovelyn Baterbonia, Rene’s mother, said Baldwin has yet to reach out to her and that she is not yet ready to face him, with the family’s legal team — led by Jimmy Bondoc and Israelito Torreon — separately seeking an immigration lookout bulletin order against Baldwin from the Department of Justice.

On the other hand, Divine Adili’s father, Elias Adili, said yesterday that their family is still searching for answers regarding the circumstances surrounding his son’s death, with the family requesting an autopsy before his remains are repatriated to Nigeria.

“We are carrying immense sorrow. We’re carrying immense grief. We’re carrying immense remorse. But I’ve known since the moment that I was told that our boys had passed away that no matter the magnitude of our grief, there were two families that experienced a loss that was so much greater than ours and a loss that would stay with them in the most acute way for the remainder of their lives,” Baldwin said.

“Never again would Rene’s mother and father and family, never again would Divine’s family be able to talk to their son or touch their son,” he went on.

Baldwin also said his deepest regret lies in the fact that he will never again be able to help Baterbonia and Adili develop into the basketball players and young men they were capable of becoming.

Baterbonia, an 18-year-old forward from Talacogon, Agusan del Sur, was one of the top prospects of his class, leading the Davao Region to the 2025 Palarong Pambansa championship where he was named MVP.

Meanwhile, Adili, a 6-foot-10 center from Nigeria, was poised for a breakout campaign in Season 89 after contributing 7.5 points and 8.17 rebounds in an injury-derailed Season 88 campaign.

(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team

“Yes, as a coach, I lost my boys, too. Never again would I be able to help them develop into the basketball players they wanted to be, to help them grow into the young men that they promised they could be. But that’s insignificant compared to what your families are experiencing,” Baldwin said.

“As a coach, we are entrusted with the growth of our basketball players, the development of these young men into future professionals. But mostly, as a coach, I’m entrusted by you, the parents and the families, with first and foremost, their well-being. And in this, I feel I’ve failed. And I’m sorry. To the depth of my being, I’m sorry,” he added.

Baldwin closed his eight-minute video by extending his apology beyond the two families, addressing everyone who felt let down or betrayed in the wake of the tragedy.

He also called for unity and healing, urging the Blue Eagles community and the nation to move forward together rooted in faith.

“So as we all try to move forward without Divine and Rene, I hope that in binding together as a community, as a basketball team, and as a nation, that we lean on the one place that will never let us down, and that is our Lord. I’m so deeply sorry. And I’m so deeply sorry to not just the families, but everybody that feels let down, somehow betrayed,” Baldwin said.

“And I pray that we all find some pathway forward to come back to hope for the future, love for one another, and forgiveness for those of us who failed and tried so desperately hard to reach a better outcome. I wish peace for everybody. I wish comfort for everybody who is hurting. And I pray that we will all find that. God bless you all. And we are trying. Thank you.”

As of writing, the Department of Labor and Employment, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the National Bureau of Investigation, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group under the Philippine National Police, and the Department of Justice are leading investigations into the tragedy that claimed the lives of Baterbonia and Adili.

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