Ateneo president on players' death: ‘We’ve been there since Day 1’

MANILA, Philippines — Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) President Roberto “Bobby” Yap, SJ, said on Friday that he met with the families of Ateneo student-athletes Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili to apologize for what happened, saying that “we have been there since day one.”

Yap said this on Friday, shortly after he appeared before the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to provide testimonies and documents necessary for the investigation into the drowning incident that killed Baterbonia and Adili.

READ: Ateneo president appears before NBI for probe into 2 cagers’ death

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After his appearance before the bureau around 11:20 a.m., Yap made a short statement, saying that he personally talked with Baterbonia’s parents and Adili’s uncle, who picked up his remains from Nigeria.

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For Baterbonia, the Ateneo president said he met with his parents at Arlington Memorial Chapel on June 9, the first day after the drowning incident occurred on June 8.

“I was there in the room the first time that they saw their son. I was there. I was there for quite a while, and I prayed with them. We blessed the body with them,” Yap said.

“In the next day when we had a mass for Rene, I was there at the mass. I spoke to them in Visayan, and after that, I met the family to talk to them privately,” he added.

He also said that when Baterbonia’s remains were brought to his hometown in Agusan del Sur, “there was a representative from the Ateneo present during the whole wake.”

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“During the funeral in Agusan, I could not go because I was being subpoenaed, so the Vice President for Basic Education, a jesuit, was there plus another official representative from Ateneo,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Ateneo president said they asked Adili’s father to come to the Philippines from Nigeria, but he could not make it due to passport problems.

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But he said he met with Adili’s uncle instead, who was the one to pick up the Nigerian student-athlete’s remains.

He said Adili’s remains will be laid to rest this Friday in Nigeria.

READ: Baterbonia returns home to chants of ‘MVP!’

“In Nigeria right now, there is a Filipino Jesuit who is there with the family, helping them, and was juggled all the way to Nigeria with them as my representative and a representative of the Ateneo,” Yap said.

He also said the Ateneo will continue to support Baterbonia and Adili’s families for “several years.” But he did not expound on it.

“I cannot imagine the grief of Mrs. Baterbonia and Mr. Baterbonia. I cannot imagine the grief of Mr. Adili, Mrs. Adili. We have met with them,” Yap said.

“We’ve been there since day one, we have apologized, we have condoled, and we’ll continue to support them,” he added.

After making the statement, Yap refused to entertain any questions from the media.

During Baterbonia’s wake last Wednesday, his mother was saying while crying that no one had supposedly asked for their forgiveness.

“Just because we are poor doesn’t mean they won’t ask us for forgiveness,” Baterbonia’s mother said.

Baterbonia and Adili, both ADMU men’s basketball team players, drowned during a team-building activity in Dipaculao, Aurora.

NBI Director Melvin Matibag earlier said the bureau intends to finish its investigation into the drowning incident this week.

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He said the bureau will then submit its findings to the Department of Justice for proper disposition and assessment of any criminal liability. /mr