MANILA, Philippines — Ateneo big man Chibueze Ikeh walked out of detention Thursday and will likely play in the game against La Salle on Sunday.
“I don’t see any reason why he will be barred because this has nothing to do with the UAAP or even Ateneo,” Emmanuel Fernandez, athletics director of the Ateneo de Manila University, told reporters at the Quezon City Police District headquarters.
Ikeh was arrested Wednesday night by operatives of the QCPD warrant and subpoena section after a game at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
The arrest was carried out by virtue of a warrant issued by Judge Maria Lourdes Giron of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 102.
Ikeh is facing a criminal case for violation of Section 5(h) of the Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act (Republic Act No. 9262). Bail was recommended at P24,000. The section defines as crimes acts that include “threatening to cause the woman or her child physical harm”; “attempting to cause the woman or her child physical harm”; and “placing the woman or her child in fear of imminent physical harm.”
Fernandez and Ateneo team manager Epok Quimpo came to get Ikeh Thursday noon after bail was posted.
“Ikeh will not be making a statement regarding the matter,” Fernandez told reporters.
About three weeks ago, Ateneo cager John Apacible was suspended by the school after a video of him in an apparent drunken outburst went viral.
Apacible was barred from playing for the rest of the second round of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 78.
Fernandez, however, said no such sanction would be given to Ikeh.
“This is a private matter, it has nothing to do with his actions. It’s a very different thing,” he said.
Fernandez said a player would only be barred from playing in the UAAP if the student was suspended in school, and there was no provision regarding players facing criminal cases.
Asked about the morale of the team, Fernandez said, “I would say the morale of the team is good because we are in a winning streak. Right now they have a very good position in the final four.”
The complaint was filed by Elsa Payumo-Ulloa, Ikeh’s ex-girlfriend, in 2014. According to the complaint, Ulloa met Ikeh through her professional dealings with Ateneo as sports coordinator and representative for Guam Basketball.
When they started dating, Ulloa said Ikeh would ask money from her and it amounted to more than $1,000. Ikeh also borrowed her smartphone and when she asked for the phone back, Ikeh allegedly threw the phone and repeatedly called her a “bitch” in public, causing fear, trauma and embarrassment.
The resolution said Ikeh did not attend the scheduled preliminary investigation and did not submit a counter-affidavit. SFM