PSC-led panel to push for tighter safety protocols after Ateneo drowning incident
The Sports Stakeholders’ Panel is moving toward sweeping structural reforms in Philippine sports governance after the deaths of Ateneo de Manila University student-athletes Divine Adili and Rene Clert Baterbonia.
Following the inaugural meeting of the newly convened Philippine Sports Commission-led panel on Wednesday, June 10, the PSC announced that it will push for the enactment of the Sports Coaching Act (House Bill 2631) to legally regulate the coaching profession and establish a mandatory national registry, licensing, and continuing professional development for all sports personnel.
"Rene, Divine, and their families saw sport as a pathway to a better future. For many Filipino families especially, sport is a means to education, personal development, and social mobility," they said in a joint statement.
The panel—composed of the PSC, the Commission on Higher Education, the Department of Education, the Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas, the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, and the National Youth Commission—also committed to standardizing "robust safety standards, risk management protocols, and emergency response capabilities across all levels of sports."
They emphasized that these efforts would extend "beyond student-athletes and a single incident."
"At its core, this is about protecting athletes and ensuring that sport is a safe, credible, and empowering environment for all," they said.
The PSC-led panel ended the statement saying that athletic excellence must never come at the cost of human life.
"We cannot undo what has happened, but we can ensure that this loss is not without purpose," they wrote. "The most meaningful way to honor Rene and Divine is to commit ourselves to legacy reforms that build a sporting environment worthy of every athlete who entrusts their dreams to it."
'Not the PSC standard'
During the press conference, the "intense" coaching style of Ateneo Men’s Basketball Head Coach Tab Baldwin was brought up. PSC Chairman Patrick Gregorio clarified that the alleged training styles do not reflect state policy.
"Definitely hindi po yun standard, definitely wala po yun sa policy ng Philippine Sports Commission, and I'm sure wala sa policy ng UAAP, wala yan sa policy ng Palarong Pambansa. Wala po sa policy ng kahit na sinong NSA," Gregorio told the press, emphasizing that the tragedy has exposed regulatory gaps that the government hopes to close.
"What is important now is we are given the opportunity to review. Saan ba yung mga loopholes sa bawat patakaran ng bawat ahensya," Gregorio said.
He continued: "Ang importante po kasi bakit kami nag meeting today is we want to tell the family, we want to tell the mother of Rene, and we want to tell the people of Agusan that hindi lang po kami nakikiramay, may gagawin po tayong action."
On Coach Tab's side
Addressing calls for immediate accountability, UAAP Executive Director Atty. Rebo Saguisag urged the public and the sporting community to allow due process to take its course, stressing the need to respect the privacy of the grieving families and the university.
"It's a very tragic incident, but I don't think it's prudent right now to rush," Saguisag said, explaining that the UAAP has internal protocols to handle such crises. "Initially, the first line is really through the representatives to hear their side... But for now, because of the sensitivity of the issue, they (Ateneo) requested space."
When asked whether Baldwin would face a preventive suspension pending the results of the investigation, Saguisag clarified that such a move is currently out of the UAAP's jurisdiction since the league is in the off-season.
"Technically, wala namang basketball, so there's nothing to suspend initially," Saguisag noted. "It's really based on [Ateneo's] prerogative. In so far as we're concerned, the basketball season has not begun."
"We have to go where the evidence leads," Saguisag said. "In so far as the UAAP is concerned, [Coach Tab] has no access to UAAP records, and there's no one to influence in the board. So yung preventive suspension is maybe entirely up to the member school."
Baterbonia and Adili drowned during a team-building trip in Dipaculao, Aurora on June 8. According to Aurora Provincial Police, the student-athletes were participating in an activity where they were walking along the beach when they were swept up in a strong current.
Police have ruled that their deaths were purely accidental.
The NBI has been ordered to conduct a probe into the incident.