Rene “Bobet” Baterbonia died over two months ago at what was supposed to be a team-building activity of the Ateneo de Manila University’s (ADMU) men’s basketball team in Dipaculao, Aurora where Bobet and teammate Divine Adili drowned.
If the Bisaya were to comment on that location, he might say, “Ang walay ulaw nga nag-organize ug team building kunohay sa Dipaculao.”
Since then, many sympathizers have gone to Bobet’s wakes and funeral. His tomb in his hometown of Talacogon, Agusan del Sur, continues to be visited by many people. Flowers, candles, and food have been offered there. Bobet T-shirts, keychains, and other merch have become precious items to collect.
There’s even this Facebook post that says Talacogon has replaced Japan as the Pinoy’s travel goal.
I, for one, have already followed the Facebook pages of his mom Rovelyn, eldest brother Rubeyan, younger brother Rhenz, and Mirayah who I guess is his tita. And also that of Coach Jess, Player Spotted 2.0, Municipality of Talacogon, Agusan del Sur, Municipal Information Office-LGU Talacogon, Provincial Government of Agusan del Sur, and Bobet’s Ateneo de Davao teammates Matt Cayetano, Macky Peligrino, Rhysus Bajenting, JM Sanoria, and Aaron Joash Bayanban.
By the way, Cayetano, Peligrino, Bajenting, and Sanoria are now with De La Salle Santiago Zobel’s Junior Archers after decommitting from ADMU. There was no way for them to play for ADMU’s high school basketball team, the Blue Eaglets, after Bobet died under ADMU’s watch.
As the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte is ongoing, I have a feeling that the hearings on Bobet’s death will attract more interest once they start. Both cases do have one common feature: Davao. Which is Duterte’s hometown, and Bobet’s adopted hometown.
That’s the Davao where durian, pomelo, and mangosteen are aplenty. It’s the home of the country’s national bird, the Philippine Eagle. It has Samal Island where I had food poisoning from a plate of sashimi way back in the late ‘80s. I had to recuperate at the Insular Hotel, now known as the Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao, for one whole week while eating lugaw and boiled eggs which the hotel’s kitchen staff religiously delivered to my room thrice a day.
That was also the time I met then-Mayor Rodrigo Duterte at a bulalo restaurant at 3 a.m., after a friend and I had one drink too many, requiring the hopefully healing effects of hot soup. That friend and the mayor happened to be friends, thus the introduction, but I was too drunk to appreciate the gesture.
The Dutertes have led Davao City for so long, it's now unimaginable for anyone else to be its mayor. There was that single term, though, when Benjamin de Guzman was mayor from 1998 to 2001 due to constitutional limitations on mayoral terms and the Duterte patriarch served as congressman instead.
A public office ban for VP Sara is actually possible. Since she has already been impeached, she is now on trial in the Senate. If she gets convicted by the senators, the Constitution says she can be banned from running for office forever.
Running the whole country is different from running Davao. People always argue about how safe Davao really is. Some lists put cities like Dumaguete at the top, while other lists put Davao first. In the end, these rankings are just like election surveys. The results always depend on who is asking the questions and what data they use.
For now, though, Talacogon is a popular place to visit.
