(UPDATE) MANILA, Philippines — After a two-week investigation, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) recommended the filing of charges against Tab Baldwin, the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) Blue Eagles former head coach and 10 others for violation of the Republic Act 11053 or the Anti-Hazing Act.
In a media briefing on Friday, Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla said that under the amended 2018 version of the law, hazing now refers to "any act that would result in physical or psychological suffering, harm, or injury inflicted on a recruit, neophyte, applicant, or member that applies to the basketball team as a prerequisite for admission or requirement or continuing membership in an organization. These include forced calisthenics and exposure to weather, or other brutal treatment forced physical activity which is likely to adversely affect the physical and psychological health of such recruit."
Speaking in Filipino, Remulla said hazing used to be just part of initiations. "We used to think of hazing as paddling, shaming and inflicting pain."
"But in this case, team-building and training crossed over to hazing," he said, referring to the drowning of Rene Clert Baterbonia and Divine Adili during a team-building activity in a beach resort in Dipaculao, Aurora organized and supervised by Baldwin on June 8.
In past interviews, some of the players described the team building activity as a “bootcamp” or “military-style” training but denied that there was any form of hazing.
Earlier in the day, Ateneo de Manila University President Fr. Roberto Yap went to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) as part of its continuing investigation into the deaths of Baterbonia and Adili.
Yap was expected to submit to the NBI-Homicide Division the documents requested from him after investigators issued him a subpoena ad testificandum and a subpoena duces tecum.
The Ateneo president’s lawyers went to the NBI on June 19 to inform investigators that Yap would appear and cooperate with the ongoing probe.
