The Department of Justice has ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to dig deeper into the deaths of Ateneo de Manila University basketball players Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili in Dipaculao, Aurora.
The DOJ said the NBI would determine whether charges should be recommended over the fatal drowning that has raised questions from the families and the public.
The department said the NBI Central Office had been instructed to create a task force to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the incident.
The DOJ said the move was meant to establish the facts and ensure that justice would be served.
Ateneo earlier said Baterbonia and Adili drowned during a team-building activity in Dipaculao.
Baterbonia, a former Palarong Pambansa champion and Ateneo de Davao Most Valuable Player, was supposed to start his collegiate run with the Blue Eagles in UAAP Season 89.
Adili, 21, was Ateneo’s foreign student-athlete in Season 88, where the Blue Eagles finished with a 6-8 record.
Central Luzon police had also launched its own probe, saying initial findings showed the two players were swimming when a strong current swept them into deeper waters. Baterbonia’s mother has demanded justice and questioned claims that her son had been made to swim with weights, but police in Dipaculao said no weights were found on either athlete and earlier described the drowning as an accident.