ATENEO de Manila University (ADMU) president Fr. Roberto Yap was a no show at Thursday's (July 9, 2026) continuation of the clarificatory hearing on the employment status of former Blue Eagles head coach Tab Baldwin at the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
In an interview after the hearing, Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino said that Yap requested for the resetting of the hearing at a later date due to prior commitments.
"He wrote stating he was available on the 14th or 15th. We can't extend the schedule anymore. It has already taken too long. His lawyer is here, anyways," said Tolentino.
During the hearing, Ateneo maintained that Baldwin was engaged under a consultancy agreement, and that no employer-employee relationship existed because the former did not exercise control over the latter's coaching functions.
Serving as a witness, lawyer Jose Feliciano said he assisted Baldwin in securing an immigrant visa at Ateneo's request while noting that resident aliens are exempt from obtaining an Alien Employment Permit (AEP) under Article 40 of the Labor Code.
Tolentino, though, maintained that resident aliens holding an Alien Certificate of Registration (ACR) are still required to secure an AEP.
According to the labor chief, they are looking to promulgate their decision within the month.
"All parties will be submitting their memorandum seven days from now," said Tolentino.
"Probably, before the end of the month, barring any untoward incident or someone will still want to testify, we will come up with a ruling on this," he added.
The labor chief assured that the decision on the case of Baldwin will be based on their existing policies and laws.
"We will be very judicious and fair as to whether Coach Tab Baldwin violated or disregarded existing laws, rules, and regulations of the DOLE," said Tolentino.
Last June 29, the DOLE held the initial clarificatory hearing with Baldwin personally appearing in the proceedings. (Anton Banal/SunStar Philippines)
