More than 21,000 public Facebook posts about the drowning deaths of two Ateneo de Manila University basketball players reveal a coordinated effort by pro-Duterte networks to turn the tragedy into a Luzon-Mindanao divide. Data forensics group The Nerve reported this on Wednesday.

On June 8, Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili died in a drowning incident. Baterbonia, 18, was a standout player from a poor village in Agusan del Sur, Mindanao. Adili, also a student-athlete, was from Luzon.

But the narratives that spread online focused almost entirely on Baterbonia — and on the idea that Ateneo, an elite Luzon institution, failed him.

The Nerve analyzed posts from June 8 to June 15. They found that calls for justice made up 22% of all posts, with 11% specifically criticizing Ateneo's statements as cold and unsympathetic. Posts supporting the Duterte camp made up 6%.

More than 400 posts mentioned Vice President Sara Duterte, who visited Baterbonia's wake in Davao City on June 13. Senator Robin Padilla, a Duterte ally, was mentioned in over 600 posts. He also visited the wake and filed a resolution seeking a Senate probe into the incident.

Lawyers Israelito Torreon and Jimmy Bondoc — both with ties to the Duterte camp — offered free legal services to Baterbonia's family. Torreon previously served as counsel for former President Rodrigo Duterte and Apollo Quiboloy. Bondoc represents fugitive Senator Bato dela Rosa.

“Rene Baterbonia was a Mindanaoan. He was a dreamer from among our own people. For us, that's not an abstraction. When one of our own falls, the pull to stand up isn't professional. It's personal. Kay kami, kabalo mi mudapig sa among parehong Bisaya (Because we know to stand with our fellow Bisaya),” Torreon and Bondoc said in a joint statement.

Mindanao was mentioned in 739 posts. The dominant narrative: Baterbonia — a boy who led Davao Region to a Palarong Pambansa championship and moved to Manila for bigger dreams — was failed by Ateneo, an elite Luzon institution. Luzon appeared in at least 96 posts.

The Nerve found at least four Facebook posts with nearly identical phrasing that were reposted cumulatively 46 times. One started with “LOVED AND CARED BY MINDANAO, ONLY IN LUZON, LIFE WILL BE LOST” and was reposted 20 times. Another began with “Inalagaan sa Mindanao, Napabayaan nga ba sa Luzon?” (Cared for in Mindanao, neglected in Luzon?) and was reposted 11 times. These posts and their copies generated at least 30,000 engagements.

Duterte propagandist Krizette Chu pushed the narrative further in a post reposted at least 25 times. She asked what Ateneo's response would've been if Baterbonia and Adili came from affluent backgrounds.

Another set of posts hailed former President Rodrigo Duterte as “the poor people's president,” claiming he would've handled the situation differently if it happened during his term. One early instance came from Facebook user Grace Locsin, who has a history of sharing pro-Duterte content.

The Nerve's analysis shows how the Duterte camp — which first rose to power in 2016 by exploiting the Luzon-Mindanao rift — is using a real tragedy to revive that same political strategy. Baterbonia's death is being framed not as a campus accident but as proof that Mindanaoans can't trust Luzon institutions.

Ateneo hasn't commented on the online narratives. The university previously released statements expressing condolences and promising a full investigation into the incident.