Rovelyn Baterbonia said she has set aside her initial anger toward the Ateneo coaching staff and Rene’s teammates as she waits for the legal process to determine what happened to her son.
Speaking on “Fast Talk with Boy Abunda” on Friday, Baterbonia said her focus is no longer on holding personal resentment but on finding answers surrounding Rene Clert “Bobet” Baterbonia’s death.
“We’re only human. At first, maybe I was angry. But now, I’ll just let the law take its course,” Baterbonia said when asked whether she remained angry with Rene’s teammates and the Ateneo coaching staff.
She stressed that she wants clarity about the circumstances that led to her son’s death.
“I just really want to know the truth about my son’s death. Was it really an accident or not?” she said. “Whether I win or lose, at least I get to hear the truth about my son’s death.”
Baterbonia also said assistant coaches spoke with her while Rene’s remains were at Arlington Memorial Chapels, but she did not have a similar conversation with Ateneo management.
“While we were at Arlington, the assistant coaches spoke to me. They were the ones who talked to us there. That’s all,” she said.
She also disputed reports that she had refused to meet Ateneo representatives outright. According to Baterbonia, she asked that any meeting be postponed until after Rene’s 40th day because she was still struggling to process his death.
“They tried to talk to me, but I didn’t agree because I was still very confused,” she said. “I wouldn’t have understood anything from the conversation because I couldn’t remember some things. It was as if I had lost my mind.”
Baterbonia recalled that she became unconscious for several hours after learning of Rene’s death on the night of June 8.
“When I found out that my son had died on the night of June 8, I didn’t even realize that I had fainted and was unconscious for several hours,” she said.
“There were so many people there, and we were still receiving many visitors, so I didn’t agree to talk with them. Even if we had talked, I wouldn’t have remembered what we discussed.”
Rene and fellow Ateneo men’s basketball player Divine Adili died on June 8 during an off-campus team-building activity in Dipaculao, Aurora. Police later said Rene’s post-mortem examination showed asphyxia by drowning as his cause of death.
Baterbonia said she is leaving the matter to the legal process while continuing to seek an explanation for what happened to her son. (Adrian Co)
