Future generations in Talacogon, Agusan del Sur will mark every June 8 in memory of Rene Clert “Bobet” Baterbonia, after the town’s Sangguniang Bayan passed a resolution establishing the date as “Rene Clert ‘Bobet’ N. Baterbonia Day.”
The local council framed the annual commemoration as a way to keep alive the values the young athlete came to represent — excellence on the court, faith, and devotion to his hometown. June 8 carries particular weight for the community: it is the day Baterbonia, 18, drowned alongside teammate Divine Adili during an Ateneo de Manila University team-building activity in Dipaculao, Aurora. He had been recruited to play for the Blue Eagles in the upcoming UAAP Season 89 and arrived in Manila only days before the incident.
Baterbonia earned the most valuable player plum at the 2025 Palarong Pambansa, steering the Davao Region squad to a national title. A graduate of Ateneo de Davao University’s senior high school program, he was widely embraced across Mindanao as a homegrown star, with crowds along highways from Davao to Agusan del Sur chanting “MVP” as his funeral convoy made its way home.
The Talacogon government announced the declaration on June 23, the final day of Baterbonia’s wake at the town’s municipal gymnasium, where fans from across the country — among them PBA players Scottie Thompson and Nards Pinto — paid their respects, according to Rappler. He was laid to rest at the new municipal cemetery the following day.
Beyond Talacogon, institutions have moved to memorialize the teenager. Ateneo de Davao named its senior high school covered court after him and retired his number 2 jersey, ensuring it will never again be worn by one of its players.
