More often than not, it is not the crisis itself that erodes an organization’s reputation or, in extreme cases, causes its demise. It is usually the way the crisis is handled, especially in the first 48 hours, that dictates which way things will go.
One week ago, Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili, members of the Ateneo Blue Eagles men’s basketball team, died during a team building activity in Dipaculao, Aurora. The two young cagers- Baterbonia only 18 years old and Adili only 21-had a promising future ahead of them. All of their dreams came to an end that Monday afternoon.
After the news broke, the administration of the Ateneo de Manila University issued a statement, confirming the death of Baterbonia and Adili, expressing their condolences to the families, and asking for ‘privacy and space for all those grieving as they come to terms with this profound loss.’
Nobody from the school or the team-including the members of the coaching staff who were with the players during the team building activity – gave a face to those words. The statement was posted on the university’s official Facebook page.
The university issued statements again on June 9 and 11- still faceless. While more details were already included in those releases, the narratives had already gotten away from the school.
Spinning out of control
Baterbonia’s mother Rovelyn came out in numerous interviews expressing frustration with the way Ateneo was handling the situation, including their failure to inform the parents about the kind of training their children will be subjected to. She demanded answers, as the lack of information had given rise to speculations: that the players were asked to wear weights in the water (this was later disproven) and that the activity could be more hazing rites than team building.
The owner of the resort where the team stayed, together with his staff and legal counsel, voluntarily went to the National Bureau of Investigation last Thursday to dispel speculations that they did not give the team adequate warning about the treacherous waters in the area. They also provided evidence of warning signs and infographics all over the area regarding riptides and rip currents.
So many other questions had been raised by the public, including members of the Ateneo community, that had yet to be answered directly by the school-the biggest among them being where was Coach Tab Baldwin in all of these, and why has he not come out to speak?
Coach Tab finally broke his silence on June 12, in an almost 9-minute video posted on the school’s official Facebook page. The day before that, Ateneo issued a statement defending Coach Tab’s silence as ‘not a personal decision made independently of the University. The University requested that Coach Baldwin refrain from making public statements to allow the official processes to proceed and the facts to be established before any public discussion of the matter.’
Faceless words
But that silence and the absence of a human face seemed to have backfired, judging from how the public has reacted and continues to react as of this writing. Professors, students, alumni, and employees have even released an open letter to ADMU President Fr. Roberto Yap SJ, calling for greater accountability, transparency, and empathy on the part of the school admin.
‘We appeal for sincere and humane expressions of apology, empathy, and compassion from the University leaders and coaching staff. The nameless, faceless, and sterile official social media posts have downplayed the gravity of the situation and the accountability of the University,’ the educators’ open letter stated. ‘We appeal for the University administration to come forward-in person-with humility and acknowledgment of wrongdoing and lapses in judgment, risk mitigation, communication, and most especially, care for our students.
Carlo Figueroa, Senior Lecturer of Communication at the University of the Philippines Diliman and De La Salle University, agreed with his fellow educators.
‘Why only statements, ADMU? In my PR and Issue Management classes, I always reiterate: a statement is so impersonal. While it could suffice in the first two hours of a crisis, it cannot replace the effect of having a face or voice to communicate and expound the organization’s messages and actions,’ he said.
‘That talking head-either the leader of the org or a designated spokesperson-humanizes the words behind the social media card or the video graphic, and allows the grieving public and stakeholders to see a glimpse of emotion-be it sorrow, guilt, or empathy, and action, from those who bear responsibility and are expected to demonstrate accountability,’ he added.
Deathly silence
Ivy Lisa Mendoza, former journalist and now president of public relations firm MediaSense Inc., also weighed in on the issue of silence.
‘In crisis communication, which I have done for my clients, I always point out that one of the biggest mistakes organizations make is believing there are only two options: Say everything or say nothing. There is a third option, a sweet spot actually: Say what you know, say what you don’t know (yet), and explain what you’re doing to find out,’ she explained.
‘The problem with silence is that it creates a vacuum that is quickly filled by speculation, anger, rumor, and distrust. If you do not control the narrative early, someone else will snatch it from you. In the age of social media, that ‘someone else’ may be an anonymous source, a self-appointed expert, a rumor mongerer, a sawsawero [meddler], or an engagement-chasing content creator. If you do not provide information, people will look elsewhere for it-however unverified or unreliable the source may be-because people naturally seek answers when something tragic happens. Same with a ‘no comment’ reply to a query, which all the more triggers media to look for answers elsewhere,’ she further said.
She noted that you do not need to provide all the answers at once, especially when these require investigation and validation. Silence, especially when lives were lost, is not the correct route.
‘You may not have all the answers immediately. Most people can accept uncertainty and are willing to wait for clarity. It is a running story, after all. But what people struggle to accept is the perception of indifference. We can forgive a lack of answers, but we rarely forgive the appearance of not caring enough to acknowledge questions and show empathy,’ she said.
A delicate balance
Richard Arboleda, President of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Philippines, noted the importance of balancing empathy and accountability-which is particularly important when there are deaths involved. ‘We treat empathy and accountability as two stages. Sympathy first, then the search for answers. People don’t experience a tragedy that way. When something like this happens, sympathy isn’t enough. People want to see that the institution understands the weight of what happened. What is being done to establish the facts. Those get read as demands for accountability, and they are. But they are also how people gauge whether the empathy is real,’ he said.
‘A public statement expresses grief. It is also supposed to build confidence that the truth is being pursued seriously. You can put out something genuinely compassionate and still leave people wanting. Compassion was never the only thing they were asking for. I have never seen empathy and accountability as competing ideas. Words carry the grief, but it is the pursuit of facts that proves the grief isn’t just a public statement,’ he added.
We continue to mourn the loss of Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili. While we may not have known them personally, as human beings, we grieve the fact that these young men will never fulfill their basketball dreams and their aspirations for their families. We pray for comfort and peace for their loved ones.
PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier organization for PR professionals around the world. Abigail L. Ho-Torres is the Chief Marketing Officer of Ikigai Philippines and an independent consultant and trainer, with more than two decades of experience in media, public relations, marketing, and customer experience.
We are devoting a special column each month to answer our readers’ questions about public relations. Please send your questions or comments to askipraphil@gmail.com.