ATENEO de Manila University said on Friday that it offered legal support to its basketball team student managers and two ball boys who may face hazing charges after the death of two student athletes in a team-building activity on June 8.
The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) recommended on Friday that resigned Blue Eagles basketball head coach Tab Baldwin and 10 other people, including student managers Paolo Manuel Adevoso and Andrew Lorenzo Salud and ball boys Aris Ramos Ponce and Joel Palmiano Rapa, be charged for violating the Anti-Hazing Act during the team-building activity in which players Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili died from drowning.
"Recognizing the unique circumstances and needs of those affected, the university has reached out to them and their families to offer appropriate support and accompaniment throughout the legal process, while respecting that each respondent's rights and interests must be represented independently.
"Our foremost concern is the welfare of our students and staff, and the assurance that each of them receives the support, fairness, and due process they deserve."
The other six people on DILG's recommendation list are strength and conditioning coaches Grant Dearns and Ceasar Vincent Javellana Elumba; assistant coaches Dean Caesar Castaño, Sandro Nicholas Romero Soriano, and Reynaldo Jacinto; as well as physical therapist John Eric Quiambao Rueca.
Baterbonia family gets condo
Meanwhile, the National Housing Authority (NHA) granted Baterbonia's family a condo unit in Davao City worth P2.26 million, the Municipal Information Office-LGU Talacogon Facebook page announced on Friday.
"When the National Housing Authority (NHA), under the leadership of General Manager Joeben A. Tai, learned about the family's situation, they demonstrated the true meaning of public service — bringing hope to those in need," wrote Talacogon LGU in Filipino.
"Many thanks to the officials of the National Housing Authority in Butuan City, led by Regional Director Ma'am Erasme G. Madlos, for providing a new condominium unit to the Baterbonia family."
The charitable act gave the Baterbonia family a chance to start over after living in an ancestral home in Talacogon, Agusan del Sur, that experiences flooding.
Rene, also known as "Bobet," drowned during Ateneo's team-building activity in Dipaculao, Aurora, on June 8.
Bobet was laid to rest on Wednesday.
Bobet's teammate Divine Adili also drowned in the same activity and was laid to rest in his home country, Nigeria, on Friday.
