Some known Atenean alumnae responded to the university’s statement regarding the silence of Ateneo Blue Eagles head coach Tab Baldwin on the drowning incident that claimed the lives of two members of his team.
READ: Why Tab Baldwin hasn’t spoken about the drowning incident, according to Ateneo
Broadcaster and Gretchen Ho on Thursday, June 11, reacted to the university’s request for the longtime coach to refrain from making public statements following the death of 19-year-old Rene Baterbonia and 21-year-old Divine Adili during a team-building activity.
Baterbonia, a basketball talent from Agusan del Sur, was about to make his UAAP debut in Season 89, while Adili helped the team get off to a strong start in Season 88.
Both drowned after being swept away by strong currents during an activity conducted around 300 meters away from the resort’s beachfront in Dipaculao, Aurora, on Monday, June 8.
The incident prompted renewed calls for Baldwin to address the public, particularly as the activities, which have been described as a “bootcamp,” reportedly began when he took over as head coach of the men’s basketball team.
Rovelyn Baterbonia said the family was told the practice has been ongoing since 2017.
Three days after the incident, Ateneo’s president Fr. Robert “Bobby” Yap, said the university had requested the coach to remain silent “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,” Yap said.
Yap added that Baldwin’s silence “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,” he said.
The statement was not well received by Gretchen, a known former Ateneo Lady Eagles player.
“I do not understand how difficult it is to at least give apologies, comfort and condolences. May namatayan. The fact-finding can wait. It has its own time,” she wrote in a Facebook post.
“Basic humanity dictates at least showing up for the bereaved. This is not the Ateneo I know,” Ho added.
Actress and content creator Rica Perelejo, who also attended Ateneo for college, likewise said that her alma mater had “miserably failed” in handling the situation so far.
“Silence the Coach. Give statements that say nothing.
@lalarimando’s take on this is so enlightening. They have miserably failed this. Heard there’s a presscon this weekend. I mean, this long to release a statement makes it all the more dubious,” she wrote on Threads.
“In everything, I feel no real compassion but only an attempt to save face where they could, but in such ineffective ways that it makes me both angry at and frustrated for them. The self-interest is leaking and it’s leaking hard,” Peralejo added.
“And the palpable control in ordering the coach to not give any public statement. Notice that. That line carries the hierarchy. That line tells us who is boss, over the coach, and how to grieve and take responsibility, and how the dead victims with their bereaved are (dis)respected. It feels much like a narcissist when he is caught. Yup, that’s how it feels,” she continued.
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Journalist Chiara Zambrano, a two-time Ateneo graduate, similarly lamented the university’s handling of the matter.
“Hindi ganito kumilos ‘yung Ateneo na kinagisnan ko. ‘Yung mabilis pumanig at gumawa ng tama. ‘Yung nagsasalita agad kapag may nakikitang katiwalian. ‘Yung nagsu-suspend kahit ng star player kapag mababa ang grades,” she wrote on Facebook.
“Kasi alam, at ipinapaalala, na ang totoong buhay ay higit na mahalaga sa basketball. Nasaan kayo. Sinong Ateneo ‘tong pinapanood ko,” Zambrano added with a broken heart emoji.
Reycel Hyacenth Bendaña, national coordinator of the Move As One Coalition and Ateneo valedictorian, shared an open letter to the university urging it to do better following what she described as the “coldness of the public statements.”
“Ang Ateneo namin ay nagso-sorry sa isang [second year] student na anak ng jeepney driver because she felt abandoned,” she wrote on Facebook, citing her own experience as a former Ateneo student.
“Pero ang Ateneo ngayon, hindi makapag-sorry publicly sa lahat ng iniwang mahal sa buhay ni Rene at Divine. We demand better,” Bendaña added.
Bendaña also called on students, fellow alumni, faculty and other members of the Ateneo community to sign the open letter titled “When Ateneo Failed Its Own: Isang Panawagan para sa Puso, Pananagutan, at Katarungan.”
“To the Ateneo administration, hindi po ito ang Ateneo na kilala namin,” part of the letter read.
“We write as students, alumni, and members of the community who have been formed by this university. Ateneo has never been perfect. Subalit, ang Ateneo po na kilala namin ay nagsisikap na maging mas mabuti, humihingi ng pasensya kapag nagkakamali, at nagpapakumbaba nang may pananagutan,” it added.
“The Ateneo we know would have reached out to Rene’s and Divine’s families before issuance of any public statement. They would have provided assurance, presence, and care to our athletes’ loved ones every step of the way. Haharap, kahit mahirap; makikiramay, hindi magtatago. At hihingi ng kapatawaran nang buong puso,” the letter continued.
Ateneo earlier held a candle-lighting vigil and Mass on campus for Rene and Adili,
It also said that Baldwin and Team Manager Epok Quimpo “have gone on leave for the duration of the inquiry” amid the university’s fact-finding efforts.
Ateneo likewise said it is “cooperating fully, transparently, and without reservation” in all investigations conducted by national authorities and regulatory bodies.
Ateneo previously held a candle-lighting vigil and Mass on campus in memory of Baterbonia and Adili.
