THE Baterbonia family of Barotac Viejo, Iloilo celebrating the life of Rene Clert 'Bobet' Baterbonia. (Photo courtesy of Donna Mae Baterbonia)
ILOILO CITY — Relatives of Rene Clert “Bobet” Baterbonia gathered in northern Iloilo province to honor his memory and family ties.
They mourned and celebrated the short life of Bobet, whose dreams were cut short when he fatally drowned during a team-building activity and training of the Ateneo Blue Eagles in Aurora on June 8.
While Baterbonia was born and raised in Agusan del Sur, his paternal roots are traced in Iloilo. The Baterbonia family hails from Barangay Santo Domingo in Barotac Viejo town.
“His passing is not only a loss to our family, but also to the many young people whose dreams and struggles he represented,” wrote relative Donna Mae Baterbonia.
Bobet’s paternal grandfather, Saul Baldevarona Baterbonia, was born and raised in Barotac Viejo.
Saul went to Agusan del Sur upon the invitation of his maternal cousin Antonio Baterbonia Baldonasa in the early 1970s.
They had work opportunities with the help of their relative Loida Baterbonia-Rosal, who was married to a government surveyor.
Saul and Antonio served in the Philippine Constabulary-Integrated National Police (PC-INP), the police force during the term of President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr.
Bobet’s father Rene Baterbonia is one of the five children of Saul and Meliora Mondejar, who settled in Agusan del Sur and did not return to Iloilo.
Some of the Baterbonias of Iloilo are attending the June 24 funeral of Bobet in Talacogon, Agusan del Sur.