Grieving fathers

Grieving fathers | Daily Tribune

Today, the nation celebrates Father’s Day. It is a special celebration as children get a chance to honor their fathers with gifts, special meals and sweet expressions of gratitude for loving and supporting them in everything they do.

But for Rene “Boboy” Baterbonia Sr. and Elias Adili, there’s nothing to celebrate. This is a day of sorrow as they will be spending it without their sons — Rene and Divine — who perished in a tragic drowning incident while participating in a team-building activity with their Ateneo de Manila University men’s basketball teammates in Dipaculao, Aurora on 8 June.

The two young men, teeming with talent and potential, were swept away by powerful waves, leaving their bodies lifeless and their families demanding answers.

For a father, there is nothing more painful than burying a child. It violates the natural order of life. Parents raise their children to outlive them, to fulfill the potential that they themselves could only dream of.

But in these fathers’ case, this will not happen. Instead of seeing their sons reach the highest levels of basketball, instead of winning trophies and medals, what they got were folded jerseys, flowers and letters of condolences from the people and the institution who were supposed to protect them.

Rene was just 19 years old, a Palarong Pambansa standout from a poor family in Agusan del Sur who had just arrived on the school’s Katipunan campus to chase his dream of becoming a Philippine Basketball Association player. While Divine was a 21-year-old who left Lagos, Nigeria to power the Blue Eagles to another title in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP).

In short, both Rene and Divine were the hopes not just of the Blue Eagles, but of their families. They were their tickets out of poverty.

But in an instant, those hopes were washed away by the treacherous currents off the beach in Aurora. Instead of becoming heroes, Rene and Divine were reduced to yet another set of lifeless bodies claimed by the rip currents of the vast sea fronting the Pacific. What a tragedy.

A father’s core instinct is to protect his family.

Yet, when Boboy and Elias allowed their sons to move out of their homes and placed them in the care of an elite institution and a decorated mentor, that protection was externalized. The system failed them.

The investigation by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group has already moved past the narrative of a simple, unavoidable accident. Subpoenas have been issued, structural shakeups have taken place and the UAAP has barred the coaching staff led by Kiwi-American mentor Tab Baldwin from participating in any activity while the probe is ongoing.

Still, administrative sanctions cannot heal a broken home. They cannot heal the bleeding hearts of Boboy and Elias, two fathers who lost their sons because of the negligence of the people who vowed to look after them.

If we are to honor fatherhood, we must also honor the responsibility of keeping our children safe.

Institutions cannot treat student-athletes as mere commodities for sports glory while neglecting their basic duty of care. When parents entrust their sons to an institution, they expect that trust to be sacred.

This Father’s Day, as we embrace our families, let us remember the grieving fathers of Divine and Rene. Their sorrow is further compounded by a desperate search for the truth, justice, and accountability.

Let us remember that true comfort will not come from folded jerseys, flowers, and empty letters of condolences. It will come when the people and the institution responsible for their untimely deaths are strictly held accountable for the lives they failed to protect.

To Boboy and Elias, stay strong. The entire nation stands with you in your search for justice.

Happy Father’s Day, such as it is.