Interior Secretary Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla said Friday that investigators found inconsistencies between the statements of Ateneo basketball players and team coaches in connection with the drowning of student-athletes Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili in Dipaculao, Aurora on June 8.
Remulla made the statement after former Ateneo head coach Thomas Anthony “Tab” Baldwin and other team officials appeared before the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) at Camp Crame for a fact-finding inquiry.
“The coaches arrived here—Tab Baldwin, Dean Castanos, Em Fernandez and other officials. They gave their narration of events,” Sec. Remulla told reporters.
“There are some inconsistencies between what the players said and what the coaches said,” he added.
Team players were earlier summoned by the CIDG as part of the ongoing investigation into the incident.
Remulla said the differences in accounts may be due to the individuals being in different locations during the incident.
“The players were in the sea while the coaches were on the shore. So we’re getting the full details,” he said.
He added that investigators are still consolidating testimonies.
“We are piecing together what makes sense and what doesn’t, and it will take us a while. It will take us another week before we come up with the investigation report,” he said.
Remulla said Baldwin’s testimony is significant given his role as head coach, noting he made most of the team’s decisions.
When asked if any violations had already been established, he said: “Not yet. Wait until the full report is out.”
Earlier, Remulla said the investigation report was expected to be submitted to the Department of Justice on Tuesday, but indicated the timeline has been delayed due to incomplete appearances, including Ateneo president Fr. Roberto “Bobby” Yap, who missed Friday’s CIDG proceedings due to a graduation ceremony.
Yap has been subpoenaed to appear next week, Remulla added.