Ateneo Kiwi coach left Philippines on June 10?

MANILA, Philippines — Grant Dearns, one of 11 people recommended to face charges in the deaths of two student-athletes of the Ateneo de Manila University, left the country on June 10.

A source told The STAR that Dearns left the country two days after the deaths of Rene Clert Baterbonia and Divine Adili, members of Ateneo’s basketball team.

Dearns, a New Zealander, was the strength and conditioning coach of the Ateneo Blue Eagles.

Former head coach Tab Baldwin had reportedly invited Dearns to assist in the June 8 training camp in Aurora, where Baterbonia and Adili drowned.

In a June 19 podcast, Dearns said he returned to New Zealand.

“No immigration lookout bulletin order or hold-departure order has been issued against Dearns,” Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval said.

The police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group has recommended the filing of charges for alleged violation of the Anti-Hazing Act against Baldwin, Dearns and other staff members of the basketball team.

Criminal liability

The Philippine National Police is urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) to examine Ateneo’s criminal liability in the deaths of Baterbonia and Adili, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said yesterday.

If student managers and ball boys were unaware of alleged hazing, the DOJ may consider them as state witnesses instead of accused persons, Remulla said.

“What is paramount to us is holding accountable those who actively planned and deliberately subjected these student-athletes to physical suffering,” he added.

Under the Anti-Hazing Act, the mere presence of a person during a hazing activity constitutes prima facie evidence of participation as a principal actor.

Remulla urged prosecutors to scrutinize Ateneo officials’ potential negligence, pointing out the institution’s legal mandate to safeguard students in place of parents.

In another development, former Blue Eagles assistant coach Francisco Alas and Ateneo athletics director Emmanuel Fernandez have submitted their affidavits to the National Bureau of Investigation.

Baldwin’s employment

Baldwin’s lawyers said he is not required to secure a working permit and his permanent working visa would suffice to be able to work in the Philippines.

Since Baldwin is a permanent resident in the country, he is not required to get an alien employment permit, his lawyers said at yesterday’s hearing at the Department of Labor and Employment.

The DOLE will subpoena Ateneo’s officials for a July 9 hearing to further discuss the nature of Baldwin’s contract with them.

Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino said a second hearing will require the appearance of a certain lawyer Dong Feliciano, who supposedly advised Baldwin that a permanent residency card would satisfy his employment requirements. — Rainier Allan Ronda, Mark Ernest Villeza, Rhodina Villanueva