Rene Baterbonia (left) and Divine Adili

MANILA, Philippines — The drowning of two members of the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) men’s basketball team during a team-building activity in Aurora province on Monday was “purely [an] accident” and did not involve foul play, a police official said on Tuesday, citing statements gathered from people at the scene.

“What happened was a natural accident. It really was not expected and for now, we do not see any foul play in this incident,” Police Col. Percival Pineda, acting Aurora provincial police director, said in Filipino during a press conference held in the capital Baler.

Following the police pronouncements, sports, academic and education department officials will be discussing the incident in a meeting scheduled for today, while some lawmakers are still calling for a deeper investigation.

READ: Police say no weights attached to bodies of drowned Ateneo athletes

The mother of one of the victims also took to social media to bewail the lack of information immediately reaching her family, as she also questioned the very activity her son was made to undergo without her being told about it.

Late Monday, the university confirmed in a statement that two members of its Blue Eagles basketball team, rookie Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili, drowned earlier that day in Dipaculao town.

READ: Ateneo players’ deaths put spotlight on Blue Eagles ‘bootcamp’

Baterbonia, a 19-year-old standout from Ateneo de Davao, saw action for Davao Region in the Palarong Pambansa basketball finals two weeks ago and had just arrived in Metro Manila last week to join the Blue Eagles in its University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 89 campaign. Adili, 21, was a Nigerian student-athlete who played for the Blue Eagles in UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament last year.

According to Pineda, the accident happened at a beach resort in Barangay Lipit, Dipaculao, at 2:40 p.m. The team members, he said, were wading through the sea as part of their team-building activities, with the water level reaching their thighs, when Baterbonia and Adili hit a deeper area.

“In the place that they were walking on, there is a deep area. And then, they were suddenly swept by the current, toward the farther part of the sea,” he said.

The resort lifeguard tried but failed to save the two players, Pineda said. The local police and the Philippine Coast Guard sent their respective teams to the area after receiving a call reporting the accident at 3:15 p.m.

“The victims were promptly transported to a medical facility; however, they were later declared dead by the attending physician,” a separate statement from the Central Luzon regional police said. “We respectfully ask the public to refrain from speculation and allow the authorities to complete the investigation.”

In a statement on Tuesday, ADMU said the remains of the two student-athletes have been taken to Arlington Memorial Chapels and Crematory in Quezon City from Aurora Memorial Hospital. Adili’s remains will be taken to Nigeria while an autopsy will be performed on Baterbonia at the request of his family.

Ateneo vowed to support the families of the two student-athletes as well as the rest of the team and coaching staff, while “pursuing a careful and thorough understanding of the circumstances surrounding this tragedy.”

It said further updates, including “measures being undertaken to review the circumstances of the incident,” will be shared once available.

Stakeholders’ panel

On Tuesday, the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) announced that a stakeholders’ panel will meet today at the PSC headquarters to discuss the incident and gather information from concerned agencies.

The panel will include PSC Chair Patrick Gregorio, PSC Commissioner Fritz Gaston, Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas Executive Director Erika Dy, Commission on Higher Education Chair Shirley Agrupis, UAAP representatives Rebo Saguisag and Fr. Aldrin Suan, National Youth Commission Chair Jeff Ortega and Department of Education Undersecretary Malcolm Garma.

The PSC said Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla has assured the panel of an official report from the Philippine National Police in Aurora. Findings from the discussions will be coordinated with the PNP and the Department of Justice.

In Camp Crame, Remulla told reporters that the police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) will release a report on the drowning incident soon.

Mother’s grief

In a series of Facebook posts, Baterbonia’s mother, Rovelyn, expressed grief and frustration over what she said was a lack of information provided to the family.

“Wherever we go, we will carry memories of you that no amount of money can ever replace,” she wrote in Filipino. “I still hope that when your father and I arrive, you’ll wake up and begin a second chapter of your life, son.”

She also said she had not personally seen her son’s remains when news of his death began circulating online.

“I still haven’t seen my son’s body,” she wrote. “No one has shown me any proof that he is really gone. Up to now, we still have not been told exactly what happened or where my son is.”

Rovelyn also questioned the nature of the activity, saying she was unaware her son would be participating in a training camp similar to the offseason “boot camp” discussed by former Ateneo player Mike Nieto in a podcast interview.

“If they had told us about this kind of training, I would never have allowed my son to go,” she wrote. “We were not informed about it.”

Pineda said it was not the first time that the Ateneo basketball team, together with its coaching staff and trainers, held a team-building exercise in the resort in Aurora.

“In the past years, they already had activities in the same resort as well, that’s why we think they know the situation in that area. They are doing their usual activities,” he said.

Congressional probe

Pineda said the Dipaculao local government would conduct a full inspection and investigation in the area to prevent a repeat of the incident. He said the police had also reminded resort owners in Aurora, a province in the country’s eastern seaboard facing the Pacific Ocean and a popular surfing destination, to ensure the safety of guests in their establishments.

At the House of Representatives, Manila Rep. Joel Chua suggested that the National Bureau of Investigation take the lead in investigating the incident.

“I am not accusing anyone at this stage. But every legitimate question must be asked, and every lead must be pursued. No angle should be prematurely dismissed,” he added.

Deputy Speakers Paolo Ortega V, Jefferson Khonghun, and Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said that while they urge authorities to act fast, they will also file a resolution seeking a congressional inquiry into the incident.

“Such an investigation is crucial not only to establish the facts but also to provide the legislative basis for crafting new laws or amending existing ones. Our objective is to institutionalize stricter safety standards for all school, sports, and team-building activities nationwide, so that no other family will have to endure this kind of preventable loss,” they said in a joint statement.

Pinoy Workers party-list Rep. Karl Fernandez Legazpi also said that the incident should be a reminder that while there is a need to push student-athletes toward discipline and resilience, institutions need to have the “highest standards of safety, care, and accountability.” —WITH A REPORT FROM JASON SIGALES