00:01good noon mr chair and honorable senate president and everyone present thank you for the opportunity
00:08to appear before this committee as a resource person in its deliberations on student athlete
00:14welfare and protection before anything else i ask that we remember rene butter bonia and divina
00:21dilly we continue to mourn with our families and loved ones who bear the deepest pain of this
00:28tragedy to their families i once again express my deepest sorrow and my sincerest apologies for
00:36everything they have had to endure since june 8. nothing we say or do today can ever lessen the pain
00:44of losing a son we remain committed to accompanying and supporting them in whatever way possible
00:53over the weeks we have sought to keep our community informed as we recognize that many questions remain
00:58unanswered as the various investigations and proceedings have progressed differing accounts
01:05and perspectives have naturally emerged today we will answer your questions as best as we can
01:12based on what the university presently knows while respecting the integrity of all ongoing
01:18legal regulatory and our own university processes upon learning of the terrible incidents on june 8
01:27we immediately directed that both families we informed and assured of our full support during this
01:33extraordinarily difficult time we likewise arranged for the transportation of renes and divine's remains
01:40from dipakulau to manila as well as the return of the members of the basketball team the coaching staff and
01:48support
01:49personnel once the families have been informed we issued a public statement although we did not immediately
01:59publicize every action we undertook our work in supporting the families began on june 8 and has continued to this
02:07day
02:07without interruption many of these efforts were undertaken quietly out of respect for the families and their privacy
02:17we offered to shoulder the travel expenses of renes family from agusan to manila
02:23i personally visited the wigs of renee and divine several times to express my condolences and apologies to pray with
02:32them and celebrate the holy mass and to assure them of our continuing support throughout this period we provided
02:41all possible assistance to both families we facilitated the return of renee and the batarbonia family to agusan
02:49and of divine to nigeria we have also remained in close coordination with ateneu de davo university in
02:56accompanying renee's family we know that none of these efforts can ever fill the void left by renee and
03:04divine or change what has happened or ease the immeasurable loss their families continue to bear
03:13they were simply the beginning of our continuing efforts to accompany and support them
03:18our work in supporting both families remain steadfast we continue to reach out remain in communication
03:27and stand ready to provide continuing care assistance and support today and in the days ahead
03:34at the same time we continue to provide pastoral psychosocial and other forms of support to the
03:41surviving student athletes and other members of the university community directly affected by this
03:47tragedy they not only lost their beloved teammates and friends and witnessed this tragedy firsthand but
03:55many continue to endure cyber bullying online harassment and trial by publicity while grieving
04:03we unequivocally condemn these acts because they only deepen the pain of those already grieving
04:11by spreading disinformation and causing further harm
04:18our support for those affected does not diminish our commitment to care
04:22for every member of our community while the legal processes are ongoing beyond the legal and
04:29regulatory processes our objective is to understand what happened learn from this tragedy and strengthen the
04:37systems that uphold the safety well-being and formation of every student whether in athletics or any other
04:44university activity we hear our community's frustrations and understand the demand for swift action
04:53we share that same urgency but we also owe it to everyone affected by this tragedy to make decisions based
05:01on verified facts
05:02and to ensure that every action we take and every action we implement is thoughtful sorrow
05:09and lasting we come before this committee in that same spirit of transparency and cooperation
05:16we welcome this opportunity to assist the senate while respecting the integrity of the other ongoing processes
05:24ultimately we recognize that the true measure of response will not be in our statements but in our
05:30actions our efforts to pursue the truth and become a better institution will continue beyond this hearing and
05:37the conclusion of these proceedings we owe this to everyone who has carried the burden of this tragedy
05:43but above all we owe it to renee and to divine and to their families that is the assurance that
05:51we make to
05:51be in ouropaths so that we will find unofficialarchy and its peace willgee so thank you
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