De la Paz slams, Pangandaman hails golf club ruling

Businessman Delfin de la Paz described the decision of Valley Golf and Country Club to expel him as unfair and expressed concern over the golfing career of his 14-year-old son Bino Lorenzo, who is a member of the Philippine juniors golf team.

“We were expelled. What will be the future of my 14-year-old son? What will happen to his golfing career? They (Pangandamans) have a lot to pay to golf courses; we don’t have that much money. Valley’s decision is too unfair, they should’ve been objective in their investigation,” said De la Paz.

Raymonf Fortun, lawyer of the De la Paz family, said Bino is a first year high school student at Ateneo and also a member of the Philippine Juniors golf team and had been representing the country in golf tournaments abroad.

He said De la Paz’s daughter Marie Dhel or Bambee, 18, a first year college student, is also a golf scholar at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, USA.

De la Paz said the incident greatly affected Bino, who was also attacked during the brawl.

Because of the incident, De la Paz said Bino no longer wants to play golf.

“(Bino) doesn’t want to play anymore. He told me yesterday, ‘Daddy, why are they like that? We were the ones who were beaten, but we got expelled. Don’t we have a place in this world anymore?’” he said.

Fortun said the decision of officials of Valley Golf and Country Club to expel De la Paz did not vindicated the sons of Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman Sr. from the alleged mauling incident.

In an interview over radio dzBB, Fortun said the club’s decision to oust De la Paz and ban his children, Bino, 14, and Marie Dhel, 18, from entering the golf course does not belie the fact that the businessman and his son were beaten up.

He said the golf club’s decision would not affect the status of the criminal complaints filed against the Pangandamans and their bodyguards.

“The injuries my clients suffered are real. Somebody was mauled and somebody has to answer for it,” Fortun said.

Teodoro Pastrana, lawyer of the Pangandamans, said the club’s decision had vindicated the Pangandamans. “It gives us a true picture of what transpired. I think it’s a vindication for the Pangandaman family,” Pastrana said.

In a two-page resolution released last Sunday, Valley Golf’s board of directors cited the testimonies of eyewitnesses who claimed that the elder De la Paz instigated the brawl with the Pangandamans.

The club’s board also suspended Secretary Pangandaman for two years after the management ruled that he was not directly involved in the mauling incident.

The club also banned for life at the golf club the children of De la Paz and Pangadaman’s sons Mayor Nasser Jr. of Masiu, Lanao del Sur and Mohammed Hussein.

De la Paz and Bino filed last Jan. 5 two counts of slight physical injuries and three counts of child abuse charges against Nasser Jr. and Mohammed Hussein before the Antipolo City prosecutor’s office.

The Pangandaman brothers appeared at the same prosecutor’s office some two hours later to file physical injuries charges against the De la Pazes.

The Pangandamans also filed an additional grave coercion and light threats against Delfin, Bino, Bambee, and brother Bruce who arrived in the golf course armed with a baseball bat and Mrs. Maridel de la Paz who was armed with a bladed weapon.

Fortun belittled the club’s decision, saying that it was the result of an internal investigation by the golf club’s executives based on the testimonies of caddies who, he said, are not proven to have seen the actual mauling incident.

“They (caddies) will be subjected to cross-examination in court and we will test if they are really telling the truth),” said Fortun, adding that caddies usually keep their distance when players are on the green.

Fortun said the club’s decision would not affect the slight physical injuries and violation of the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act charges they filed against Nasser Jr. and Hussein.

He said the De la Pazes would file a motion for reconsideration on the decision to ban Bino and Bambee, who are both promising golfers.