Two young athletes are dead, and the Ateneo de Manila University — a school that once stood against Martial Law and championed good governance — is being accused of protecting its own instead of showing compassion.
Rene Baterbonia, 18, and Divine Adili, 21, died during a training activity for the Ateneo men's basketball team. The circumstances remain murky. But what has angered many isn't just the tragedy — it's how the university responded.
Alumni, students, and faculty are saying the same thing: “This isn't the Ateneo I know.”
Ateneo built its reputation on speaking up — against the war on drugs, for the poor, through immersion programs that send students to live with fisherfolk and farmers. It produced leaders like Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte and San Juan Mayor Vico Sotto. Compassion was a core value, not just a buzzword.
But in this crisis, that compassion was missing.
Rene's mother said she never got a clear explanation from the university. She and her family had to run to the governor of Agusan del Sur just to get help flying to Manila. The university's response, according to her, was cold and unclear.
Alumni lawyers say the first thing Ateneo should have done was place head coach Tad Baldwin and the coaching staff on preventive suspension. They should have cut off Baldwin's communication with the other players. They should have gotten a blow-by-blow account and released it to the families and the public immediately.
None of that happened.
As of press time, Baldwin still hadn't faced Rene's family. Rene's remains were flown to Davao without that conversation ever taking place. Meanwhile, Ateneo de Davao — a sister school — stepped in and offered scholarships to Rene's siblings.
Ateneo's silence has been deafening. The graduating batch put it this way: “Presence over press releases.” But there was no presence. No face. No voice. Just speculation filling the void on social media.
Why was the university so shell-shocked that it retreated into silence?
Some point to a pattern. The coaching staff had long had free rein over the men's basketball team. Coach Baldwin brought Ateneo elite status and multiple championships over a decade. But there were warning signs. A former player, GBoy Babilonia, had a near-drowning incident in a previous training — but no investigation followed. Players described Baldwin's training in podcasts as “bootcamp,” “deadly,” and “hell week.”
Baldwin himself called the training “breaking-down of egos.” Critics now wonder if it was closer to indoctrination.
Rappler sports editor Jasmine Payo summed up what many are feeling: “What we saw was an elite institution protecting itself.”
Rene Baterbonia was a success story — a prodigy discovered in the Palarong Pambansa, a national youth sports competition. He came from Agusan del Sur with big dreams. Those dreams drowned in a macho team-building exercise.
Five lessons in crisis management, according to alumni lawyers: Show a human face. Don't let speculation run wild. Reach out to the grieving family immediately. Don't forget your internal audience — faculty, students, staff. And above all, take responsibility.
Ateneo failed on all five.
The question now is whether the university will finally step up. Or whether this is just another case of an elite institution protecting itself — a lesson Filipinos have seen too many times, but never expected from Ateneo.