SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur — Granting the final, documented wish of a young athlete whose life was cut short, the national government has stepped in to permanently relocate his family to safer ground. Saturday morning, June 27, 2026, the family of the late Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles rookie cager Rene Clert “Bobet” N. Baterbonia has officially received a modern condominium unit in Davao City.
The ₱2.266-million real estate grant was handed over as direct housing assistance by the National Housing Authority (NHA).
Representatives from NHA Region XIII traveled to the Baterbonia family’s home on Friday afternoon, June 26, to formally execute the property turnover. The transaction was finalized when the athlete’s grieving mother, Rovelyn Baterbonia, signed the formal certificates of ownership.
The structural details of the housing assistance grant include the following specifications:
[ NHA HOUSING ASSISTANCE DEPLOYMENT ]
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[ THE REAL ESTATE ASSET ] [ THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTIVE ]
• **The Property:** A brand-new, urban condominium unit situated • **Direct Order:** The housing grant was fast-tracked under
at the **Madayaw Residences** complex. • an explicit directive issued by NHA General Manager
• **Location Node:** Positioned along Sierra Madre Road in Bangkal, • **Joeben A. Tai**.
Davao City—a major economic and educational hub. • **Local Coordination:** Agusan del Sur Governor Santiago
• **Asset Valuation:** The asset carries an approved commercial market• Cane Jr. closely coordinated with national housing directors
value of **₱2.266 million**. • to facilitate the paperwork immediately after the player's burial.
The relocation provides a vital structural upgrade for the Baterbonia family, who had spent more than two decades cramped inside a decaying ancestral home in Talacogon, Agusan del Sur. Inherited from Bobet’s paternal grandparents, the old wooden house sat squarely inside a low-lying, highly vulnerable flood-prone plain. Whenever heavy monsoon rains or typhoons hit the province, the family was routinely forced to abandon their belongings and flee to a local church for emergency shelter.
[ THE BATERBONIA FAMILY HOUSING TRANSITION ] │ ▼[ Flood Vulnerability ]──► The family\'s Agusan del Sur ancestral home faced persistent, destructive inundations, wiping out modest household assets and disrupting basic living conditions for over 20 years. │ ▼[ The Final Wish ] ──► Before his tragic death, Bobet had repeatedly expressed to friends and family his ultimate goal of earning his way into a major basketball program to purchase a secure home in Davao City. │ ▼[ Educational Base ] ──► Moving to Davao City directly aligns with his plan to have his mother comfortably oversee the secondary schooling of his youngest sibling under an urban environment.
The real estate handover occurred just two days after Bobet was laid to rest at the New Talacogon Municipal Memorial Park on Wednesday, June 24. The 19-year-old rookie, alongside his Nigerian teammate Divine Adili, tragically drowned on June 8 during a punitive post-game training drill in the rough surf of Dipaculao, Aurora. Beyond the housing assistance, the local community has mobilized long-term support, with Ateneo de Davao University stepping up to offer full, multi-year academic scholarships to all six of Baterbonia’s surviving siblings.
While the secure condo gives the family a vital physical buffer against poverty and climate displacement, it serves as a bittersweet milestone. The family continues to demand full institutional accountability as the PNP-CIDG actively pursues strict anti-hazing and criminal negligence charges against resigned head coach Tab Baldwin and ten other team handlers, ensuring that the structural failures that led to the tragedy are fully answered in a court of law.