Prudence and Madness

He Who Had Too Much Sense of Entitlement

Only a person with such impunity can say these words: ”Hindi nila kami kilala! Sabihin mo nga sa kanila kung sino ako!”

And, as for emphasis and show of power, he beat up a 56-year old man and a 14-year old boy…in an effing golf course because of an effing golf game. And that guy who felt he’s entitled to too many things he doesn’t deserve is a politician, Mayor Nasser Pangandaman Jr. of Masiu, Lanao del Sur.

Bambee, in her blog, Vicissitude, tells us the tale of how this Masiu mayor and his company (including his father, the Secretary Nasser Pangandaman of Department of Agrarian Reform) bullied and mauled her father and her brother:

“My brother and I were playing golf at the South Course of Valley. We were on the 3rd hole, and we see two golf carts going past us, overtaking our flight, and setting up to tee off on the next hole. My dad goes up to them and asks them why they would do that, why they would overtake us without even asking for our permission. Golf etiquette 101. One of the guys says that they’re with the flight in front of us. (So what? That doesn’t give them the right to just pass us WITHOUT asking.) So, we go to the 5th hole. The flight behind us catches up with us, and asks us what caused the hold up. We said that this flight just slipped in front of our flight. So we complained to the marshall. We play the 5th hole and walk towards the next hole, where there is a teehouse, and both the flights in front of us were there, talking with the marshall. 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…”

Read the rest of her tale here.

Things such as these always make me fuming mad. Oh, how I wished I can say, “FUCK YOU, MGA PUNYETA KAYO!” to these politicians faces and hit them with their own golf clubs! Punyeta, the mayor acts as if he’s answerable to no one. And he’s just a FUCKING MAYOR (imagine what else he’d do if he’s holding a higher government position…)

What irks me more is how the entire Valley Golf and Country Club (Antipolo city) behaved in such situation:

“We leave. We walk to the clubhouse to file a complaint. My brother asks for a doctor. My dad could barely walk. Their group comes to the clubhouse, sees my brother. Once again my brother pleads, says sorry, and is crying. He was CRYING, for crissakes. But no. The relentless mayor still punches him in the face, and then sees my dad and goes after my dad again. Him and his friend pull my dad to the ground, pulls at his feet, and steps on him like he’s dirt. I run to him and try to hold him back, holding him back by his shirt, while this other guy and this girl tries to stop me. She tells me to just stop it. I scream in her face “they’re beating my father up and you want me to stop?!”

“My mom and my older brother come. I tell her Bino’s right ear is bleeding. They both look like they could kill. My dad holds my brother off, I hold off my mom. When I finally got my mom under control, my older brother gets away and I hold him off. Two of the mayor’s bodyguards pull out guns. I embraced my brother from the back, just holding him back, crying. The receptionists came to us, crying, hugging me, my dad, and my mom, whispering to us to just leave. “Maam, umalis na po kayo, may mga baril sila…Maam…umalis na po kayo please…”

I feel a mixture of pity and anger for the employees of Valley Golf present on that unfortunate day. Obviously, they were scared of the mayor and his father. But I pity them for not having the courage to do what is right and what they’re supposed to do to take care of their clients. I strongly advise that the dela Paz family include the Valley Golf club in filing charges. THEIR SECURITY GUARDS DID NOTHING. And it even took them a while to help them physically get out of harm, even advising them, the victims, to SIMPLY LEAVE THE PLACE, as if they’re the aggressors.

It’s appalling that people have the gall to simply just let this happen. All the more appalling is how some people think that this is the usual occurrence in the Philippines and that those who fell victims to such should simply “deal with it”. The apathy! Surely it is one thing to acknowledge that such violence occur to average people, but it is one thing to say that it is but a wakeup call to “clueless middle-class people”. Perhaps some person is forgetting that he, too, belongs to the middle class (maybe even upper middle class). Indirectly, he’s incriminating himself to be rather clueless too. One of the things I really do get annoyed is when stereotypes are applied to people because they seem to belong to a “class”. Sorry, but I prefer to see individuals, not simply groups of people.

This is a very horrible experience on what’s supposed to be a relaxing vacation on a holiday. But, I think, it’s fortunate that Bambi is a blogger and that she wrote her experience on her blog. The mayor may have all his money and all the connections to be able to manipulate the outcome of all of these. But Bambi’s got her own voice, her blog, in cyberspace. And she’s out to tell her story.

So, sorry ka na lang, Mayor. You can manipulate some people most of the time, but you cannot control everybody all the time. Of course, you’ve got your own side of the story to tell and I believe EVERYBODY would be darn interested to hear all of it. But surely don’t justify your wanton acts with a kid’s cussing! Though in time you may be able to get away with all of it, her story will still survive and those who’re willing to know about it will REMEMBER.

To Bambee, I feel your anger and your cry for justice. I don’t really pray, but nevertheless, I still wish that the right things happen and you’d get the justice your family deserves. And I wish all of you a speedy recovery from this traumatic experience, especially to your father and your brother.

To the rest of the blogosphere, spread the word!

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