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| Ateneo publicly requested to meet Rene Baterbonia's family after his mom claimed the school never showed respect to them. FilOil EcoOil Sports (file photo) |
MANILA—Ateneo De Manila University denied on Monday night that it never reached out at all to the family of Rene Baterbonia following the incoming freshman's tragic passing.
The development came after singer-actress Toni Gonzaga interviewed the high-flying forward's mother Rovelyn in her Toni Talks Podcast.
In the interview that aired on Sunday, the older Baterbonia lashed out at Ateneo as she claimed the school officials never met up with her to tell the real story about the drowning incident that led to the death of her son.
"Noong dumating kami sa Arlington (Memorial Chapel), ilang oras akong naghintay para pumunta sila doon at mag-explain na ganito yung aksidenteng nangyari," the bereaved mother said.
"Hindi sila pumunta doon. Wala talagang nag-explain."
She added that the snub led her to thinking Ateneo does not have respect toward poor people like her.
"Wala silang respeto. Ang kapal talaga ng mukha," Baterbonia further said.
However, in a statement, the Quezon City-based college said that no less than its president, Fr. Bobby Yap, personally reached out to her repeatedly.
"At Rene’s wake in Manila, our university president, Fr. Bobby Yap, personally met with Mrs Baterbonia to offer his condolences and apologies, pray with her and offer holy mass, and assure her that the university stood ready to extend whatever help the family needed. Fr. Bobby visited the wake several times, and the same offer of support was conveyed to the family at different occasions by other members of our community," Ateneo said.
The university added that it is continuously providing support to the Baterbonias and also the family of Divine Adili, "much of it quietly out of respect for their privacy and their need to grieve in the way they know best."
Ateneo then said that it was the Baterbonias who requested for some space after Rene was buried and since then, the school's efforts to reach them out again never materialized.
"In the weeks that followed, the family asked us to afford them the space they needed as they prepared for the commemoration of the 40th day of Rene’s death. We respected their request. Since then, we have repeated our request to meet with them but, so far, have not been given a chance to do so," the statement continued.
In conclusion, Ateneo publicly reached out to the grieving family for a sit-down talk to finally makes amends.
"We take this opportunity to reach out once again to the Baterbonia family, this time publicly, in the hope that we can finally sit down with them again, listen to them, provide the answers we can, and extend whatever care or support they may need, as we continue to do for other members of our community who have been affected," the school's statement said.
The podcast interview came two months after the tragic event in Dipaculao, Aurora, in which strong Pacific Ocean waves swept through the Blue Eagles while taking a swimming break, eventually leading to the passing of the younger Baterbonia, a former Palarong Pambansa MVP and NBTC All-Star, and Adili.
