Some Filipinos reminded Rovelyn Baterbonia to refrain from directing her grief toward student-athletes of the Ateneo Blue Eagles Men’s Basketball Team following a social media post that contained a negative comment.
Rovelyn is the mother of Rene “Bobet” Baterbonia, the 18-year-old student from Agusan del Sur who drowned during a team-building activity of the men’s basketball team at a resort in Dipaculao, Aurora on June 8.
Rene, affectionately called “Mr. MVP,” was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2025 Palarong Pambansa.
A product of Ateneo de Davao before transferring to Ateneo’s main campus, he led the Davao Region to its first-ever Palaro basketball championship that year.
Rene was a beneficiary of the 4Ps (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program) who dreamed of giving his family a better life by becoming a professional basketball player.
Following his death, Rovelyn continued her son’s practice of signing memorabilia for supporters.
A life-size sculpture was also erected near his resting place as a tribute.
As of July 13, the National Bureau of Investigation recommended the filing of homicide charges against former head coach Tab Baldwin and other individuals, including assistant coaches, university officials and resort personnel in connection with the incident. No students were included in the list.
More than a month after Rene’s death, Rovelyn continues to grieve for her son, who had promised to help give their family a better life as he pursued his dream.
On Monday, July 27, she reshared a post featuring photos of Ateneo Blue Eagles players and wrote: “Walang mga [respeto], ang popogi pa naman.”
The post has received 26,000 reactions and 7,000 comments on Facebook.
It also left several online users concerned, as they wondered how the post might affect Rene’s teammates, who had already been dealing with shock and feelings of guilt following the incident.
“I genuinely sympathize with her loss, but grief shouldn’t be an excuse to spread unverified claims,” an X user wrote.
“Especially the fact na na-reveal na sa investigation na hindi guilty ang players, victims din sila. Mother, hindi ito ang proper way for asking ng justice for Rene and Divine,” the X user added.
“Grabe naman, I know she’s grieving, pero mga biktima lang din ‘yung mga players. So disappointing, aatakihin na naman ng mga minions ‘yung mga players,” another user commented.
“What’s this for, really? Paanong naging disrespectful ‘yung players…? Those kids have big dreams too, just like your late son, ma’am. Would jeopardizing theirs be the justice that you’re looking for?” a different Pinoy asked.
Another online user also expressed concern over Rovelyn spreading what they described as false narratives about the players.
“Ang issue ko lang isa, si Nanay na pasimuno ng mga narratives na ganito kaya hindi matigil-tigil ‘yung bashing sa Ateneo players and the Ateneo athletes in general. When will she ever stop?” the X user asked.
“Kaka-disappoint lang na we are crying for Rene’s justice tapos si mhiema niyo, parang binabaon na sa hukay ‘yung pangarap ng mga bagetsimae [bagets] kahit ilang beses na na-prove na hindi naman sila na-involve sa drowning incident,” the X user added.
The players
Last June, the sister of Sam Reyes, one of Rene’s teammates, called on the public to refrain from attacking the players, who were also affected by the incident.
“My question to you is, HOW would YOU have handled it if you were in their shoes? How would you have handled TRAUMA [AND] GRIEF as a 21-yr old basketball player?” Alex Reyes, a trauma-informed coach, said last month.
“Would you have the emotional tools and language? Would you even know what ‘survivor’s guilt’ means before something tragic happens? Please stop attacking my brother and his teammates. They all were drowning and tried to save each other,” she added.
Sam had spoken about his feelings of guilt, saying that thinking about the incident was “eating” him “alive.”
Another player, Kieffer Alas, also lamented the bashing they received, saying it felt “like going to two deaths.”
“The first one is losing our teammate, then now being criticized for their deaths. We lost them. We witnessed what happened. Every social media person or anybody — they were just putting the blame on us,” he said.
The team-building activity was initiated by Baldwin, who introduced a “bootcamp”-style of training for the players during his tenure.
Past athletes have also shared stories of near-drowning incidents at the same activity.
READ: Past accounts of Ateneo players’ ‘military-style’ training resurface amid drowning case
Baldwin previously said he adopted the practice from legendary American college football coach Bear Bryant.