MVP sends sympathy to Ateneo cagers, Mindanao quake victims

MANILA, Philippines – Tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan on Tuesday led a tribute to victims of the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck Southern Mindanaon and the two Ateneo basketball players who drowned during a team-building activity in Aurora.

Before the opening of PLDT Inc.’s annual stockholders’ meeting, Pangilinan, who chairs the telecommunications giant, asked attendees to observe a minute of silence for those who died in both tragedies.

READ: CIDG probing drowning of Ateneo’s Baterbonia, Adili — Remulla

“We humbly request that you observe a minute of silence for those who lost their lives yesterday,” he said.

Pangilinan, an economics graduate from Ateneo de Manila University and supporter of its sports programs, shared the sad news about basketball players Rene Clert Baterbonia and Divine Adili, who drowned during a team-building event in Dipaculao, Aurora.

“I think a riptide caught them while they were out there in the sea,” he said.

He added that he had seen a video of 19-year-old Baterbonia, who came from Ateneo de Davao, bidding farewell to his mother shortly before the trip. Adili, meanwhile, was a student-athlete from Lagos, Nigeria.

In a separate announcement on Tuesday, PLDT Group said it had mobilized assistance through PLDT and its wireless arm, Smart Communications, to support communities affected by the earthquake.

READ: Magnitude 7.8 earthquake leaves 35 dead, 200 injured in Mindanao

Its sales and service center in General Santos City offers free WiFi, device charging, and long-distance calling to residents affected by the disaster, the company said.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the earthquake that struck off Maasim, Sarangani killed 37 people, injured 479 others, and left four missing. /pai INQ