Ateneo de Manila University president Fr. Roberto “Bobby” Yap swears they have done their best to reach out and extend assistance to the family of student-athlete Rene Baterbonia.

Yap said he met with the Baterbonia family during the 18-year-old cager’s wake at Arlington Memorial Chapels in Quezon City last week, adding that the university chose not to publicly disclose its offers of assistance out of respect for the family during this difficult time.

Baterbonia’s remains are currently in his hometown of Talacogon, Agusan del Sur while foreign-student athlete Divine Adili’s remains will be brought home to Nigeria.

Both Blue Eagles lost their lives in a drowning incident in Dipaculao, Aurora last week following a team-building activity.

“I welcomed Mrs. Baterbonia at Arlington when they arrived. I will not divulge what we discussed, but I offered my condolences,” Yap said.

“I can say that somebody from Ateneo was in contact with them on the evening of the tragedy.”

“As I mentioned, we offered to fly them to Manila, but they chose the arrangement provided by the Agusan del Sur local government unit, which is very understandable. We tried to reach out to them, and we did our best to support and care for the family throughout this situation.”

Yap said the assistance Ateneo is providing to the families of Baterbonia and Adili is not intended to cover up the tragedy, but rather to show compassion during their time of grief.

“As I said in my statement, we will provide material assistance to the families, and we see that not as a form of legal settlement, but as an expression of moral responsibility,” Yap said.

“I don’t want to list all the details of what we are discussing, but we are presently in communication with them regarding the assistance.”

Several organizations have also extended support to the families of Baterbonia and Adili in the wake of the tragedy.