The families of Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili are seeking five specific actions from Ateneo de Manila University, according to their lawyer, Atty. Israelito Torreon.
Speaking at a press conference in Davao City on June 13, 2026, Torreon said the demands are aimed at uncovering the truth and ensuring accountability in connection with the deaths of the two athletes.
"Ano ba talaga ang nangyari? Yung full account?"
But for him, firsthand accounts from witnesses are the most crucial.
“Ateneo has always been the most important source of information in this case. It remains so. No government investigation, however thorough, can substitute for what only Ateneo and its people can tell us,” stated the Davao-based lawyer.
Read: Gerald Anderson, Lance Carr remember Rene Baterbonia
THE FIVE DEMANDS
At the top of the families' list is a request for Ateneo to designate an official representative.
“A human face. Not a press release. A designated named person whose sole responsibility is to communicate with both families to answer their questions, keep them informed, and ensure that they are never again left in the dark about proceedings concerning their sons,” said Torreon.
The second demand is to let the players and coaches who were in Dipaculao, Aurora, during the incident speak.
“The young men and the coaches who were in the water that day deserve the institutional guarantee that they may speak freely and completely to investigators, to families, and to the public without fear of consequences,” the lawyer stated.
The third demand is for Ateneo to provide a full chronological account of the whole trip to Aurora.
“Every activity, every instruction, every warning received, every precaution taken or not taken from the coaches who lived it.”
The fourth demand is for Ateneo to formally announce its institutional responsibility.
Torreon stated: “Not condolences, but a direct acknowledgment that Rene and Divine died under Ateneo’s watch, during an Ateneo activity, and that the institution accepts responsibility for what happened and what was not done.”
The last demand is for the university to provide support for both families “without conditions.”
He stressed: “Offered freely without conditions, without quit claims, as an act of justice, not strategy."
Torreon told the press that the demands were drawn up after talking extensively with the families of Rene and Divine.
Ateneo is yet to respond to the lawyer's statement.
On June 11, the academic institution expressed in a statement released via its Facebook page that it will conduct a thorough fact-finding inquiry to investigate the incident.
“The University is cooperating fully, transparently, and without reservation with all investigations being undertaken by national authorities and competent regulatory bodies."
Read: Ateneo de Davao grants scholarships to Rene Baterbonia's six siblings\