Pangandaman denies starting the brawl

The slugfest at the Valley Golf and Country Club in Antipolo between the families of Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman and businessman Delfin dela Paz had a new twist as the Secretary insists in media interviews that his son was attacked first by the 56-year old businessman and his son.

 ”There really was a brawl. They did punch each other, but it was De la Paz who attacked Nasser Jr. by hitting him with an umbrella,” the Agrarian Reform Secretary said. He said his sons will press counter charges of physical injuries against De la Paz, who filed a complaint with the Antipolo police on Friday, the day the incident transpired.

 The Cabinet Secretary, recently appointed to the government peace panel in talks with the MILF, averred that contrary to reports that he was passive during the incident, he was actually the one who pacified both camps. He also denied that their bodyguards intervened in the slugfest, citing a golf course rule against bodyguards on the golf course.

 Meanwhile, the management of Valley Golf has placed Agrarian Reform Secretary Pangandaman, his son Mayor Nasser Jr, and businessman Delfin de la Paz under temporary preventive suspension. Nasser Jr is actually not a member of the club but was there as a dependent of the Secretary. 

 My take on the matter? Don’t ever hit a high-powered mayor on the head with your umbrella. That  can make him, his siblings, and his bodyguards hit you and your son senseless, in the name of course, of self-defense. Come on, Secretary Pangandaman. Is this what you’re in power for? Apologize, make amends, and drop the charges. As a Mindanao leader, you can easily put this behind you. But as a Cabinet Secretary? What you did, rightly or wrongly,and the steps you plan to take to correct it, eventually reflects on your real boss - not just GMA, but us taxpayers as well. This incident is eating up not only your political capital, but hers as well. Humility in life, most especially among people in power, is a virtue. In less than two years, you’ll just be one of us, ordinary mortals. Rise to the occasion by bending real low.