DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 13 June 2026) — One of the lawyers representing the families of Blue Eagles Rene Clert Baterbonia and Chukwuemeka Divine Adili said his clients are “asking five things” from Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU).
Lawyer Israelito Torreon told journalists in Davao City Saturday afternoon that his clients have drawn up a list of five demands they want met.
First, Torreon said the families want “a human face” and a designated person whose sole responsibility is to communicate with both families – to answer their questions, keep them informed, and ensure they are never again left in the dark about proceedings concerning their sons.
Second, the families are asking to let the players speak. He said the families want their sons’ team mates to be given the institutional guarantee that they may speak freely and completely, to investigators, to families, to the public, without fear of consequences to their scholarships, their roster positions, or their standing in the program.
Third, they want a full account, a point-by-point, chronological account of everything that happened during the Aurora stay – every activity, every instruction, every warning received, every precaution taken or not taken – from the coaches and players who lived it.
Fourth, the families want formal acknowledgment of institutional responsibility. 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.
And last, the families are asking for a “proactive, unconditional support, offered freely, without conditions, without quit claims, as an act of justice, not strategy,” Torreon said.
Asked to clarify if the people present in the team building activity at Dipaculao, Aurora, signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), Torreon said that he hopes that it is not true.
The uncle of Divine from Nigeria has already reached out to Torreon’s associate on 10 June asking the law firm to represent the Adili family.
“The uncle told me that the parents are very distraught now,” Torreon said, noting that the representation of Divine has not yet been formalized through an agreement, but that he said he will soon contact the father of Divine.
The paperwork for the transport of Divine’s remains to Nigeria is currently being processed, Torreon said. (Razl EJ Teman/MindaNews)
