You’ve probably heard it by now. Members of a clan of political elites are involved in an alleged mauling incident last week at the Valley Golf and Country Club in Antipolo City.
The suspects: Masiu, Lanao del Sur Mayor Nasser Pangandaman, Jr. and his 5 bodyguards. Father Nasser Sr., Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary, reportedly just watched while the victims, a 56-year-old and a 14-year-old boy, were beaten up.
The daughter and sister of the victims, Bambee de la Paz, blogged about the incident. According to her:
The mayor of Masiu City, Lanao del Sur talks with my dad. Things get heated up. Voices were raised. But never in my wildest dreams, did I ever imagine that someone would pull out a punch. Apparently not.
He attacks my father. His flightmates, maybe 2 or 3 of them, rush to his aid and beat up my father. My 56-year-old father. My younger brother and I could not just watch. We rushed to break the fight.
My younger brother pleads to the mayor to please stop it. To not hurt my dad. To just stop. His words still ring through my head… “Sorry na po, sorry na po…tama na…tama na po…” With his hands in front of his chest in a praying position. PLEADING.
The mayor socks him in the face. My brother defended himself. My dad is still on the ground getting clobbered. My brother is the same way. I try to stop the fight, but all I can do is stop one person. There were 4 or 5 of them attacking now.
The Pangandamans’ version, however, was that the De la Pazes started the fight. GMA News reported that according to Nasser Pangandaman Jr., he talked with the elder De la Paz in a nice way but the man hit him instead with an umbrella and hurled invectives and twice challenged him to a fight.
Let’s disregard for the meantime who has the true version of the incident. Let’s set aside the fact that the alleged maulers are powerful politicians. Let’s not dwell more on the 56-year-old who was beaten up.
Let’s talk about the 14-year-old boy who, according to this Philippine Star news article, “aside from the bruises, has been traumatized. He does not want to go to a golf course anymore.”
In such a case, does it really matter who started the fight? What matters more is that a minor — a defenseless, 14-year-old boy — was punched, beaten, bruised, and hurt by men probably two or three times his built and age.
No matter what the reason is, there is no excuse to do that to a minor. Such physical abuse is clearly a violation of our laws, particularly Republic Act (RA) 7610 or the Anti-Child Abuse Law. Whoever violates that, regardless of power or rank, should be and must be penalized.
So unless the Pangandamans and their cohorts can prove that they were not responsible for what happened to the kid, then there is no reason why they should not go to jail.
Image Source
Jail the Pangandamans!
About the Author
PSEi support seen at 6,200 and 6,000 amid weaker Peso
In a not-so-surprising move, the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) yesterday raised interest rates by 75 basis points (bps) or 0.75% in a bid to tame rising inflation in the United States. This was the third consecutive 0.75% rate hike by the Fed, which brings the federal funds rate, the central bank’s benchmark interest rate, to ... Read more
Official SWIFT Code of BDO, BPI, Metrobank, Philippine banks
When sending cash remittances or wire transfer to a bank account in the Philippines (such as BDO, BPI, Metrobank, Landbank, DBP, etc.), you’ll surely need the SWIFT Code of the bank. Look no further because you can find all the SWIFT Codes you need in this list! Make sure you’re using the right bank code ... Read more
How to Waive your Credit Card Annual Fee (BDO, BPI, Metrobank, RCBC, Citibank, UnionBank)
Without a doubt, one of the most annoying fees that credit cardholders have to pay is the annual fee. Majority of cardholders are familiar with this fee and majority of us likely pay this grudgingly year after year after year. In the case of my credit card with BPI (Bank of the Philippine Islands), I’m ... Read more
Why Filipinos do not become business owners or entrepreneurs
For a majority of Filipinos, entrepreneurship does not seem to be a typical, expected path. This is not surprising, considering that in school, students are primarily taught to become employees after graduation. Students train for years to become staff workers, reporting to a supervisor, and just waiting to receive their wages or salaries every month. ... Read more
My experience investing in Mutual Funds in the Philippines
I started investing in mutual funds when I was 22 years old. As an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) then, I was fortunate to be able to save some money at that young age because of my work abroad. One time while I was on vacation in the Philippines, I saw a large billboard in EDSA ... Read more
Income Tax Tables in the Philippines (2022)
The Philippines’ new tax reform bill, known as TRAIN or Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion, was signed into law on December 19, 2017 and its implementation began on January 1, 2018. What are the new income tax rates under the TRAIN law? How will TRAIN affect income taxes of individuals and corporations? How is the ... Read more
PSE Stocks Performance under each Philippine President (1987-2021)
Did you know that Philippine stocks were able to achieve an astounding growth of 800% in a span of 30 years? From 1987 until 2018, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose from 1,000 points to a peak of 9,000 points — generating a return of 800% over 30 years. (The PSEi is an index ... Read more
SSL 2022: Salary Increases for Teachers, Nurses, Gov’t Employees
Good news to all government employees! There’s a new round of salary increases beginning January 1, 2022! Millions of employees of the Philippine government — including public school teachers, nurses and staff of government hospitals, and workers in local and national government agencies, etc. — will be getting an automatic salary adjustment this 2022 under ... Read more
PSE Trading Hours in 2022: What time open, when closed?
Before you take the plunge into stock trading and investing, make sure you understand what stocks are and how the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) operates. Unlike other investments that are relatively safe, stock trading is risky and loss of money is a possibility. So before you deep dive into the exciting world of stock trading, ... Read more
Price Floor and Price Ceiling of PSE Stocks
Trading bands in the PSE come in two forms: Price Ceiling, or the upper price limit, and Price Floor, or the lower price limit.
Hi there!
Yeah! I totally agree that beyond who really started the altercation, the Pangandamans being “public servants” should have had more professionalism in handling this situation. Shame on them that they “bullied” even a kid. This is the kind of press that Filipinos should not ignore. Turning a blind eye on this issue would only show how much corrupt and indifferent we all are with our so called “politicians”.
I am deeply happy that the Pangandamans are getting what they deserve. PGMA should sack the DAR Chief immediately even is she herself is not the best leader out there, this would show that at least she could do some good for our country. It would really, really turn me off if nothing happens with this issue. Finally, a politician has mety his match!
Tsk, tsk, denial king si Pangadaman. Kitang kita naman na duguan iyong 14-year old. Sinong gugulpi dun, tatay niya? It is interesting to follow the next events. My sincerest sympathy to the victims and fervent hope that justice will be rightfully serve.
if my memory serves me right, aggravating circumstance ang pag gamit ng lakas on a kid. (arg, my Crim Law memory is not that good na). But yes, I totally agree. Public officers should be the good epitome of our people; not bullies. Kainis. Ang dumi na nga ng tingin sa kanila, dinagdagan pa. Di na lang magbago,hmp!
i believe in the blog. if that politician were not guilty, he should been responsible and apologize for involving the 14 year old kid even if it is his men who did the mauling of the kid.
Woah! Politicians sure know how to make a ruckus. Jail them!
Personally, if I see my dad being beaten by someone else, regardless of who is at fault, I would protect my dad. What if the younger 14yr old Dela Paz did the samething when he saw his dad being punch by the younger Pangandaman. That was the reason why the younger Pangandaman hit the elder Dela Paz because he saw his dad being hit by an umbrella.
Note that the Dela Paz blog did mention that the elder Pangandaman (Nasser) didn’t join the fight despite being hurled by an umbrella.
But remember that the story from each sides will always be bias to the story teller. We will never know for sure who did what. But one thing for sure, this is a personal fight between two families. This is not like a fight between two countries (Israel and Gaza). It was a personal fight and we should not take sides.
My 2 cents.
Who cares if the elder Pangandaman didn’t join in? The blogger did say she didn’t recognize any of them by face or stature. Punches shouldn’t have been thrown in the first place. An umbrella or shoes thrown at anyone can’t be an excuse for beating a 14 year old to bloody pulp.
Fact is, we’re tired of politicians feeling as if they’re king. When things like these happen it should be a PUBLIC concern and not merely a personal fight between families.
full tank na mga Pangandaman na yan may araw din ang mga yan…..
if the 14yr old is attacking you, will you not depend yourself? i don’t think you will treat that as child abuse. i bet he did something that made the other party very angry.
I wouldn’t mind to be hit with an umbrella, but to retaliate with punches or fists is totally a stupid move, If this politician is truly smart he would have just talked it out and why is this guy a public servant in the 1st place? what a shame…
sila naman pala ang nagsimula ng away eh. they should expect the worst. unfortunately, walang kaluluwa ang nakalaban.
Checkout the result of the investigation via pinoygolfer.com forum. Finally, the truth shall prevail. The victim is not the victim after all. I dont think Bembee’s blog saw everything what transpired.
forgot the pinoygolfer.com link.
http://www.pinoygolfer.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5801&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=pangandaman&start=180
checkout the post from “rge” in the middle.
here’s a scrape from the link “… One of the things observed is 14-year old Bino hit the Mayor with his driver. Apparently, the mayor parried with his forearm and hand so this is where he sustaned the injury. In the process also, Hussein was being pulled off the older dela paz by his 2 children but again Bino was seen to hit Hussein in the face and head while Bambee had scratched the other side of Husseins face. ”
then on thes second brawl, here’s what the investigation found “…On the contrary, Bino was acting like anything but a helpless child. He sounded tough, angry, and antagonistic enough that the fight broke out again.”
This is the other coin of the story. But then again like what I said on my initial feedback, this is a personal brawl between two families. We should not take sides.
Give me a break. No one honestly believes that these guys will go to jail. They are the rich guys. And the only reason why this is getting any news at all is because one rich family was injured by another rich family. Day in and day out, incidents like this happen and the rich get away with it. I am willing to bet that the de la paz family has been on the giving end plenty of times themselves.
In the end, this is the Philippines and everyone who doesn’t like the way things are run can just leave. That’s why the whole government of the Philippines is based around sending the young abroad to work and send money back…..
There will never be a change in the Philippines until a) the rich are hanging in the gallows or b) people quit worshiping the rich or c) Filipinos stop going abroad to work (and which case they will be so angry at the way things are run they will do a or b.)
What kind of man beats up a 14-year-old and a 56-year-old father, in front of his own son? Let alone a mayor. So what if Nasser Pangandaman didn’t start the fight? “Mayor” Pangandaman claims that Mr. de la Paz tried to poke him with an umbrella, and so deflected the thrust and punched him. What are we, in high school? Who punches somebody for that? “Mayor” Pangandaman, because he is a mayor and younger and because Mr. de la Paz was with children, should have been a man and not responded. He should have been cool and collected, the strong silent type, and walked away. This “man” does not deserve any respect, and certainly he doesn’t deserve to be a mayor.
I actually like youtube but it does have some bad things on it. Like with illegal material and things.