Ateneo president says he met with cager’s kin right away

Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) president Fr. Roberto Yap

Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) president Fr. Roberto Yap on Friday disclosed that he personally condoled with the grieving parents of varsity player Rene Baterbonia the day after the athlete and his Nigerian teammate drowned during a team-building activity in Aurora province 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 told reporters.

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READ: Hazing raps recommended vs Tab Baldwin, 10 others over 2 cagers’ death

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“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.

Represented at burials

Yap spoke to the media on Friday morning after appearing before the National Bureau of Investigation, whose homicide unit is conducting a parallel probe of the incident that killed Baterbonia and fellow Ateneo basketball player Divine Adili.

At a press conference on June 10, two days after the drowning, Baterbonia’s mother Rovelyn expressed frustration over the lack of communication from Ateneo regarding her son’s death.

But according to Yap, he met with Rene’s parents at Arlington Memorial Chapel on June 9.

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When the athlete’s remains were brought to his hometown in Agusan del Sur, “there was a representative from the Ateneo present during the whole wake.”

“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 added.

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Yap also recalled personally meeting Adili’s uncle in Manila. The university administration asked Adili’s father to come to the Philippines from Nigeria, but he could not make it due to passport problems, he added.

Adili’s burial was scheduled for Friday in Nigeria, he said, and “there is a Filipino Jesuit who is there with the family, helping them … as my representative and as a representative of the Ateneo.”

Continuing support

Ateneo will continue to extend support to the Baterbonia and Adili families for “several years,” he said, without elaborating.

“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.”

Yap appeared at the NBI on Friday to give statements and documents related to the drownings, the highest ADMU official formally asked to shed light on the June 8 incident that mainly involved the Ateneo Blue Eagles and the coaching staff led by Tab Baldwin.

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Yap met with the NBI on the same day the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the Philippine National Police, which is conducting a separate probe, recommended the filing of charges against Baldwin and 10 others for violation of the antihazing law.