DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / June 14) — The legal team representing the family of the Ateneo de Manila University’s Blue Eagles player, Rene Clert “Bobet” Baterbonia, is conducting its own investigation on the circumstances that led to his death during the “team building” activity in Dipaculao, Aurora.
The investigation, according to lead counsel Israelito Torreon, is in coordination with the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
Should the evidence they collect warrant the filing of cases, Torreon said they will do so.
He told a press conference on Saturday afternoon at the Kingdom Café and Bistro near the ADDU Senior High School where Baterbonia’s wake is until Sunday night that what is needed is “proactive transparency” on the part of ADMU so that the public knows what really happened.
“Di ba ang Ateneo, mahilig ng accountability…siguro tumingin sila sa mirror at sila din accountable” (Ateneo is fond of accountability… they might want to look at themselves at the mirror and see they are also accountable), said Torreon, whose clients include Vice President Sara Duterte and Pastor Apollo Quiboloy of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ where Jose Maria College Foundation is. Torreon is Dean of the College of Law.
Causes of action
Torreon, said the legal team has discussed the “causes for action” which they are “looking into,” including quasi-delict, criminal negligence, and contractual breach.
Torreon said they will do “whatever is necessary” if Blue Eagles’ Coach Tab Baldwin will not cooperate with them.
Torreon asserted that they already wrote a letter on June 9 to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for the issuance of an Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order (ILBO) to keep watch if Baldwin, as a foreign national, will leave the country.
On June 11, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said Baldwin will be required to personally appear before Labor Secretary Francis N. Tolentino on Monday, June 15, where he will present documents evidencing his authority to work in the country and to coach the Ateneo men’s basketball team.
Torreon noted that if Baldwin doesn’t have an Alien Employment Permit, then his employment with Ateneo may not be legally valid, and his presence in Aurora would be “questionable legally.”
Torreon said they are “doing everything” to have the “full picture” of what occurred on June 8.
Hard time
However, he admitted that they are “honestly” having a “hard time” (nahihirapan) gathering statements from parties in Aurora but said that there is a “progress” of the details that remain undisclosed for the public.
Torreon called PNP Aurora’s report “a very premature declaration” after it announced that there was no “foul play” or it was an “accident.”
Even the mother of Rene, Rovelyn, was shocked why the police declared it was an accident after a “very swift” investigation.
It can be recalled that Police Colonel Percival R. Pineda, acting provincial director of the Aurora PPO, declared this in a press conference on June 9, a day after the death of Rene and team mate Divine Adili of Nigeria.
“She (Rovelyn) found it very questionable,” Torreon added, saying they already told CIDG about this.
Sorry is not enough
Baldwin has not made any public appearance but released a video through ADMU’s Facebook page on Friday evening where he said “sorry” to the public and to the families of Divine and Rene, breaking his silence after the university announced he was “on leave” and was refrained from making public statements.
At around 2 a.m. on Saturday, Rovelyn reposted Baldwin’s apology video where she vented out her frustration saying that the “apology” of Baldwin on the incident “is not enough.”
“Wala ko ninyo na update Kong naonsa na nahitabo nag post namo sa social media na na Patay na Akong anak pro Wala pa mo na sent sa akoa na picture na pagkamatuod Patay na jud Akong anak” (You did not update me what happened. You posted on social media that my son is dead but you had not sent mea a picture to prove my son is really dead), she swrote.
Torreon said Rovelyn was only able to confirm Rene’s death through a video call of a relative who went to Arlington Memorial, where she saw her son still with foams of bubbles on his mouth, sand on the body, and clothes still wet.
ADMU has clarified that there were “no weights of any kind” used in the exercise at the coast of Aurora.
Statement of Baldwin’s wife
Torreon admitted that the statements made by a woman named “Efi,” Baldwin’s estranged wife, may be “very useful” for the legal team if proven true.
“I have to be honest with you. If it is true, it is very useful for us,” he said.
In the video, Efi expressed her sympathy to the parents of Rene and Divine, saying that Baldwin should not have been near kids.
“Children are not safe around him and it was their duty to remove him…I urged them to move him away from the campus,” she said.
“The deaths of your kids were not only predictable, but preventable. The bodies of your kids are still warm and he’s talking about moving on…that’s terrible,” she added.
Torreon said they will still confirm the veracity of the video statement, and will verify should it stand in court before using it as evidence for the case.
“We do not know her, as a matter of fact. We have to verify, then we will vet. And if all of the requisites for a court testimony are met, then I might perhaps send Attorney Reginald Santiago to…New Zealand,” to secure Efi’s affidavit, he said.
The legal team may communicate with her via online channels, and then require her to have her statement apostilled, she said.
5 things ADMU must do
Baterbonia’s death raised several questions left unanswered on the part of Rene’s family.
In an earlier report, Torreon put on record the five things that the Baterbonia and Adili families want from ADMU: a “human face” and a designate person whose sole responsibility is to communicate with both families; let the team mates who were with them in Dipaculao speak freely; a full account, a point-by-point, chronological account of everything that happened during the Aurora stay;
a formal acknowledgment of institutional responsibility, that the two players died under Ateneo’s watch, during an Ateneo activity, and that the institution accepts responsibility for what happened and what was not done; and last, the families are asking for a “proactive, unconditional support, offered freely, without conditions, without quit claims, as an act of justice, not strategy.”
ADDU gives scholarships for Bobet’s six siblings
On Saturday night, the Ateneo de Davao University posted a video clip on Facebook where university president Fr. Karel San Juan announced that all six siblings of Rene will be given scholarships by ADDU.
The scholarship would cover from basic education until college, the ADDU said.
San Juan said this is to realize Rene’s dream to provide for his siblings.
Rene himself was a scholar at ADDU and was on its Varsity Team. He graduated in April this year. His brother, RB, is also a scholar, playing for the ADDU High School’s Blue Knights. (Razl EJ Teman / MindaNews)
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