The said preliminary meeting has yielded several resolutions, according to the agency.
On Wednesday, June 10, the Philippine Sports Commission msaif that it held the inaugural meeting of the Sports Stakeholders’ Panel.
During which, officials from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the Department of Education (DepEd), the Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas (SBP), the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), and the National Youth Commission (NYC) participated.
The group convened following the tragic deaths of Ateneo student-athletes Divine Adili and Rene Clert Baterbonia, who died during a team-building activity in Aurora on Monday, June 8.
The said meeting examined existing policies, protocols, and training practices toward resolutions to strengthen safeguards in athletic training environments.
“The goal is not only to understand what happened, but to ensure that lessons learned lead to safer, more responsive systems that protect athletes while sustaining high-performance sport,” the PSC said in a prior statement.
According to the commission, the preliminary meeting yielded several immediate resolutions and priority actions that the panel was quick to reach consensus on.
The PSC said that CHED immediately commenced a fact-finding mission the day after the incident to assess the team-building activity, pursuant to its Memorandum Order No. 63, s. 2017 (Policies and Guidelines on Local Off-Campus Activities).
“They have also provided psychosocial support and other services to the teammates and families of Rene and Divine,” added the Philippine Sports Commission.
That investigation is in parallel with the ongoing efforts of the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to establish a clear, accurate, and comprehensive account of what happened.
“We support these efforts and trust that their findings will contribute meaningfully to strengthening the accountability mechanisms that protect our students and athletes,” furthered the PSC.
The commission also stated that while they are allowing due process and the ongoing investigations to push through, the Stakeholders’ Panel “believes that this conversation extends beyond student-athletes and a single incident.”
sAt its core, this is about protecting athletes and ensuring that sport is a safe, credible, and empowering environment for all,” the agency also stated.
“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. For this reason, this tragedy compels us to strengthen sports governance at every level,” emphasized the PSC.
Hence, the panel pushed for the following reforms.
Firstly, given how coaches wield tremendous influence over the lives and development of athletes, the stakeholders said they must do their part to ensure that these coaches are not only empowered to lead, but also educated, trained, and held to standards that promote athlete safety, welfare, and responsible coaching practices.
“We will push for the enactment of a law regulating the coaching profession, including the establishment of a national registry, mandatory licensing and certification, and continuing professional development requirements for coaches and sports professionals,” underscored the group.
In line with that, they expressed support for the proposed Sports Coaching Act (House Bill No. 2631) filed by Congressman Faustino Michael Carlos Dy III, and its implementation to be undertaken in partnership with National Sports Associations, educational institutions, and other stakeholders.
Secondly, they also agrred that “more robust safety standards, risk management protocols, and emergency response capabilities across all levels of sport-including standardizing safety protocols on the conduct of athlete training programs” must be established.
“As part of this effort, the PSC is currently working with Philippine Life Saving, under the guidance of Surf Life Saving Australia, to expand water safety education, certification, and preparedness programs for sports personnel,” the commission disclosed.
“Athletic excellence must be pursued within systems that are safe, accountable, and worthy of public trust. Let the memory of Rene and Divine fuel our resolve to exact accountability where it is due, to protect our athletes, and to make sure that this tragedy never happens again,” the PSC-led panel continued.
They also expressed their deepest sympathies to the bereaved families and loved ones of Rene and Divine.
“We stand with you and we are here for you. Be assured that we will likewise relentlessly seek the truth that you deserve to know, and our doors are open for any assistance we can provide,” the group assured them.
To conclude, they told, “We cannot undo what has happened, but we can ensure that this loss is not without purpose. 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.“
