Ateneo: Tragedy lessons to help improve policies

MANILA, Philippines — The lessons learned from the tragic deaths of its student-athletes Rene Clert Baterbonia and Nigerian national Divine Adili would be used to improve the institution, Ateneo de Manila University said.

ADMU spokesman Fr. Raymund Benedict Hizon on Friday issued a statement, admitting that the “university is also learning from this tragedy with honesty and humility, and is working to ensure that every lesson identified leads to meaningful institutional improvement.”

“Any subsequent findings and conclusions reached through the various legal and regulatory processes will continue to guide the university in improving its practices, policies and institutional safeguards where needed,” he added.

Hizon also affirmed the university’s cooperation with the ongoing investigations being conducted in connection with the drowning incident.

“We will respect the conclusions reached through the appropriate legal processes, without prejudice to available legal remedies,” he said.

“From the very beginning, our efforts were aimed not only to address the immediate consequences of this tragedy but also to support both families with compassion, practical assistance and continuing care,” Hizon noted.

ADMU said it formed a Crisis Management Team to coordinate family accompaniment, pastoral care, counseling, psycho-spiritual support, crisis communications, documentation, fact-finding and institutional review.