Mayor Nasser Pangandaman beats up father and son

When I opened by Facebook account this morning, I saw that Political Jaywalker aka Pedestrian Observer had tagged me in a photo of Kingkong. I smiled a bit and didn't follow the link, passing it off as one of those jokes.

The next thing that caught my attention was Political Jaywalker's status update regarding the Pangandamans and read up on it.

Phew! That really got my blood boiling.

Just a few minutes ago, I spotted a note posted by Susan Ople on Facebook which contained copy from Bambi Dela Paz' blog. The note recounted the incident where Masiu City Mayor Nasser Pangandaman Junior beat up her father and younger brother at the Valley Golf Club. (You can read her blog entry in Vicissitude here.)

Here is part of her entry:

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 (Nasser Pangandaman Jr.) 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.

Nasser Jr. 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.

Someone breaks up the fight. I thought it was all over.

The mayor shouts to his caddy: "Hindi nila kami kilala! Sabihin mo nga sa kanila kung sino ako!" And believe me, I had no idea who this person was.

But now I know. He's the person who, with 4 other men, beat up my 56-year-old father and my 14-year-old brother. He's the person who sacks a pleading 14-year-old kid in the face. He's a person who, I am sure, is gonna rot in hell.

I lash out, but my dad held me back. I was screaming my lungs out, shouting to this mayor, telling him about what he had done. I said: "Nakakahiya kayo. Singkwenta'y sais anyos ang tatay ko. And kapatid ko kakatorse anyos. Anong ilalaban nila sayo?"

The mayor looks at my brother, point to his face, and says, "Tatandaan kita!" And he tells me that my brother has a bad attitude and that I need to watch him. WHAT THE HELL?! So, my brother's bad for defending his father?!

Some 250 comments were posted on this entry and many were from friends, a few from journalists.

I've never met Nasser Pangandaman Jr. and so far I haven't heard his side. If he has something to say in his defense before the court of public opinion, he ought to speak up now.

Nevertheless, even on the face of it, there seems to be no reason for the Mayor of Masiu to beat up a 56 year old man and his 14 year old son.

Being physically stronger than the old man and the boy as well as having the advantage of numbers, Nasser Pangandaman Junior ought to have avoided a physical altercation. Could he plead self defense against an old man and a child?

Moreover, Nasser Jr. should have put it in his mind that he is a Mayor and his father is a Cabinet Official. Such people are supposed to adhere to higher standards of morality and decency.

Somebody had once said that being a mayor or a leader is about giving life, in tagalog, 'Ang pagiging Mayor or lider ay pagbibigay-buhay, hindi hanapbuhay.' More to the point, it is not about beating people up.

Did they think that their power and influence will allow them to act like common buffoons with impunity? Is this how they conduct themselves in their home province of Lanao Del Sur?

Both father and son are Muslims, as far as I know. Filipino Muslims have been treated badly in the press and there have been attempts to counter this, showing that not all of them are gun toting and kris wielding juramentados out to kill every Christian in sight. However, what the Pangandamans did might put their people in bad light, especially here in Metro Manila.

Is it true that the Pangandamans are warlords in their hometown?

By golly! Then they ought to meet the warlords here in Balic-Balic, Sampaloc.