First of two parts
SKILTY Labastilla was a teacher of Chukwuemeka Divine Adili, the other basketball player who died during a “team-building” activity in the treacherous waters off Dipaculao, Aurora, on June 8. Ateneo de Manila University, which scouted Adili from Nigeria and the other deceased teammate, Rene Baterbonia, from Agusan del Sur, has issued two statements notable for their coldness and callousness. Even ChatGPT could have produced a more humane response.
Let us listen to Labastilla, so we can know more about this young and talented player, who is now dead.
“When he first walked into my Introduction to Ateneo Culture and Traditions class, Chukwuemeka Divine Adili introduced himself simply as ‘D.’ Courteous and deeply mindful of others, he knew his 6’10” frame would tower over his blockmates, so he quietly made the back row of the classroom his permanent home. Throughout our classes together last school year, he would sometimes miss sessions due to a slipped disc in his lower back, a physical toll that is unfortunately par for the course in competitive college sports.
“Yet, he never let his physical suffering diminish his spirit or his effort: there were times when he would himself attend class even if it meant standing at the back of the classroom since sitting down would cause excruciating pain. His work ethic earned him an impressive 3.0 quality point index (QPI) in his freshman year. (Your QPI mark decides whether you stay on at Ateneo, or you will be asked to leave. A QPI of 2.00 is dangerous. The highest QPI is 4.00.)
“It is with profound sadness that we mourn his sudden passing, alongside his teammate Rene Baterbonia. D crossed an ocean from Nigeria to pursue his dreams at Ateneo, trusting this institution with his education, his talents and his well-being. While he was a dedicated athlete, he also looked far beyond the court; if he didn’t pursue a career as a professional player, his dream was to build a future in marketing, so he was aiming to take it as a track and pair it with psychology.
“As chair[man] of the Ateneo Department of Interdisciplinary Studies — D’s and many other Ateneo athletes’ home department — I believe that the dedication of our student-athletes must be matched by an absolute commitment to their care, safety and protection. I stand with the community in seeking complete transparency and thorough institutional accountability regarding the circumstances surrounding this tragedy. Grieving families and a mourning campus deserve clear answers and a reassuring, definitive response.
“We extend our deepest, most heartfelt condolences to D’s family in Nigeria, his teammates and his friends. The IS family will forever honor D’s heart, humility and quiet strength. Rest in peace, D.”
Interdisciplinary Studies was also my course at Ateneo de Manila University. Later, I would teach at Ateneo full time for 20 years and part-time for another 17 years. I taught several batches of athletes, who invariably worked hard and read the texts, in spite of their endless hours of practice.
Yes, they were enrolled in IS, and some of them asked me to be their thesis panelist in their fourth year at the university. Their theses were generally competent and well-researched, and the boys were always courteous, polite and well-mannered. But that was the Ateneo before. I don’t know when Ateneo became Ateneo Inc., run like a cold corporation mindful only of branding, return on investment and the profit-and-loss statement.
Dean Tony La Viña is my friend, and like me, he has taught at Ateneo for many decades. He is also a brilliant lawyer and a former undersecretary at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. His parsing of the issue is an exercise in verbal legerdemain and heartfelt analysis. He calls it “Panaghoy, amping, puhon: A Mindanao story, a Philippine tragedy.”
“The key to the truth lies with the players, current and past. The young men who were in the water with Rene and Divine know what happened. They know what the activity was, whether it was framed as team building or conditioning or initiation, whether anyone hesitated, and whether anyone was made to feel that hesitation was not an option. They are traumatized, and police have reported that they were in shock and could not yet give statements. They must be given care, counseling and time. (Some sources allegedly said they were made to sign a nondisclosure agreement. The same was also required of the coaching staff).
The legal questions
“Let me be a lawyer for a moment, because the public conversation has been framed wrongly. The police have called the drownings a natural accident with no foul play, and many have treated that as the end of the matter. It is not. But the question is not whether this was an accident, since almost no one believes the coaches intended harm. The questions that the law actually asks are different ones.
“First, does what happened constitute hazing under the law? Republic Act 11053, the Anti Hazing Act as amended, defines hazing broadly. It covers physical activities required of a recruit or member as a prerequisite for admission or continued membership in an organization, when those activities place the person at risk of physical harm, and it expressly covers school sanctioned organizations.
“A team-building exercise that sends basketball players, not swimmers, into the open sea of the Aurora coast, days after a rookie’s arrival, is exactly the kind of activity whose legal character must be examined, not assumed. If it was hazing within the meaning of the statute, liability is severe and extends beyond those physically present.
“Second, even if it was not hazing, was there simple or reckless imprudence under Article 365 of the Revised Penal Code? Imprudence resulting in homicide does not require intent. It requires only a voluntary act done without the precaution that the circumstances demanded. And here the circumstances demanded a great deal.
“Third, there is the civil law question. Under our Civil Code, the default standard of care is that of a good father of a family, the bonus pater familias. Under the Family Code, schools, administrators and teachers exercise special parental authority over students in their custody, and our jurisprudence has consistently held schools responsible for the safety of students in activities they organize, on or off campus.
Rene was 19, no longer a minor, but he was a scholar recruited entirely within the custody, direction and control of the program, in a place he had never been, doing an activity he did not design. Did the coaches act as a good father of a family would?”
So many questions waiting to be answered. As I said in my last column, let justice be done though the heavens fall.
To be concluded on June 18, 2026
