Like Rashomon

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In Why the Pangandaman Issue Refuses to Die or At Least Abate, the Warrior Lawyer points to the archetype of the Bullying Official as the reason behind the longevity of the Valley Golf Beating Story. There seems to have been a kind of bewilderment in official circles that the beatings became headline material. Warrior Lawyer explains why:

Furthermore, the Pangandamans lost the war for public sympathy from the onset, the circumstances of the event being what it is. Setting aside the question of who gave provocation, it’s clear from the versions of both sides that the De la Paz family were at the losing end of the encounter. There was the father, no spring chicken, and his 14-year old son and college-age daughter, against able-bodied young men, powerful and influential people at that, and their armed bodyguards. Who’s being bullied here ? Pinoys will always sympathize with the underdog.

And if the rumors are to be believed, the Pangandaman camp have little idea of how the blogosphere operates. They have allegedly tried to find out and “profile” the persons behind the blogs attacking them to find ways to counteract such efforts. If true, then they betray a total lack of understanding of the viral nature of the beast. It’s not the individual blogs that dictate the agenda (not that there is even one) of the blogosphere but the medium itself: the immediacy and rapid dissemination of news and opinion among community members numbering in the tens of thousands. Issues take on a life of their own in the internet, by reason of the sheer momentum generated by information speedily passing from one person to another through blogs, social networking sites and the like. The only way to deal with it is on its own terms, by battling it out in the democratic space provided by the internet.

Moreover, the blogosphere is not a universe unto itself. Bloggers are, like it or not, part of the world at large. They are not immune from political and societal forces and will not be restrained from, at the very least, commenting on the issues of the day. They simply won’t keep quiet and anyone who tries to make them shut up would be like King Canute commanding the tides of the sea to roll back.

In his blog (see The Golf Incident: The Trouble with Mirrors), baratillo@Cubao, a person inclined to be judicious at all times, was concerned over what he perceived to be yet another case of the mob mentality of the blogosphere:

The initial reaction and predictable one is to call for the resignation of the politicians involve in the case. Related to this a series of debate has ensued on Net both via the blogs and the comment threads. The huffing and puffing of beliefs and opinions.

These are all well and good on a certain level but it would be unfortunate if it becomes an issue of trial by posts and a discussion/debate that would pull out all known political and social beliefs and theories. The first one falling into a lynch mob mentality and the second one reminds one of the ineffective men of the floating island of Laputa (from Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travel). The citizens of Laputa intelligent men that they were had one tragic flaw – so indulged in the pursuit of knowledge and reasoning that they did not use their knowledge for any practical use: to much into the thought process and no input in the action.

After a reasonable time; debate without action is as effective as cupping a corpse.

So here we are;

I am not really a fan of trial by posts. It is a blind rage that can be destructive to those who receive and uses its power. Rather it would be better to use this “power” to ensure that the case is monitored and not left to die. Legal measures are a welcome resort in such case and for the politicians involved in the case – leave of absence or resignation would also be appropriate.

And again when the debate goes way for argument’s sake – well it becomes useless and at some point deadly – apathy is not the only thing that kills a cause.

This medium is truly like a mirror and reflects the actions of all those involved.

His concern was for the truth to emerge; I engaged him in discussions on this over several days, arguing that there were two issues at hand, a political one, and one of personal justice, and that the political issue had resolved itself when the Secretary hadn’t even deigned to offer to go on leave, move to resolve matters, or in any way relinquish (at least temporarily) his authority so as to foster an unimpeded investigation; that the other concerns were properly the province of the courts as far as assigning compensation for any damages, etc. The very fact a national official reacted by going to Baguio to be seen to be “malakas” with the President, not relinquishing his post or going on leave, would send a message (implicitly supported by the President’s silence on the matter and her New Year’s activities in the secretary’s bailiwick) he was untouchable.

Baratillo prefered a more phlegmatic approach, waiting for evidence to trickle in. In subsequent conversations, Baratillo brought up the movie Rashomon as an apt comparison to the whole golf mauling brouhaha:

The film depicts the rape of a woman and the apparent murder of her husband through the widely differing accounts of four witnesses, including the rapist and, through a medium (Fumiko Honma), the dead man. The stories are mutually contradictory, leaving the viewer to determine which, if any, is the truth. The story unfolds in flashback as the four characters – the bandit Taj-maru (Toshiro Mifune), the murdered samurai (Masayuki Mori), his wife (Machiko Kyo), and the nameless woodcutter (Takashi Shimura) – recount the events of one afternoon in a grove. But it is also a flashback within a flashback, because the accounts of the witnesses are being retold by a woodcutter and a priest (Minoru Chiaki) to a ribald commoner (Kichijiro Ueda) as they wait out a rainstorm in a ruined gatehouse identified by a sign as Rashomon.

On the other hand, The Marocharim Experiment compared it to a story by Guy de Maupassant and observed,

Yet for all the bitching and whining that is taking place between the Hauchecomes and the Malandains of this issue, we’re pretty much privy to it. Like the villagers who saw the fight between Hauchecome and Malandain as nothing more than a battle of differences between strings and pocketbooks, many still see this as a battle of whodunnit first at the golf course many of us can’t afford to go to.

While they squabble about who struck the other first, some of us fail to frame this issue along – not to separate it from – the many different injustices we all suffer. The fact that something occured means that it cannot be denied.

To be sure, that is what’s unfolded since the first account, by Bambee dela Paz, emerged. This is a public issue only insofar as a public official is involved, a minor was physically harmed, and that the official took it to the point of repeated physical confrontation because he had the ultimate check on any efforts to impose reason and sobriety -his bodyguards- and continued to brandish these things as the case became a publicly-discussed one.

In a comment on Journaling on the Net, columnist Ducky Paredes took the opposite tack from my entry on the subject, where I’d pointed out that this was a case of provincial warlordism colliding with metropolitan expectations of limits on official behavior:

I am glad that some on the blogsphere want to know what really happened and not what they want to believe. It’s tough for the Pangandamans; they’re in government and with the unpopular Gloria Arroyo plus they;re outsiders being from Mindanao and Muslims. Tough but all of that has to be factored in.

Accepted that the beating up was too much - an overkill; but as a Valley golfer, let me just say that the ones who breached etiquette were the De la Paz twosome who even drove the ball and almost hit Mayor Pangandaman.

The world has gone crazy? Yes. It has dumped on the Pangandamans mainly because of ther being in government, with Gloria and are outsiders.

This is not to say that I condone what was done to the De la Paz father and son; but, could it be that they had it coming?

This is basically the case for the Pangandaman’s defense, cleverly argued indeed (there is a certain truth, perhaps, to pointing out anyone associated with the President won’t get much by way of an assumption of any kind of innocence; but the “from Mindanao” and “Muslim” arguments are canards, because first of all, there are no “outsiders” on the golf course, their being golfers making them part of the more cosmopolitan golf-playing set; and the Muslim part being totally irrelevant because what is colliding is not religion but rather, wardlordism, is equally represented among Muslims and Christians).

The whole thing has been furiously argued -and in great detail- in all sorts of places though the forum that is quoted a lot happens to be a particular thread on Pinoygolfer.com. Here, two commenters, “rge,” and “jick” basically give the pros and cons for both sides, with “rge” laying the case for the Pangandamans and “jick” taking the skeptical side (see “rge’s” Fri Jan 02, 2009 4:39 pm post on page 13; then “jick’s” response, Fri Jan 02, 2009 9:15 pm on page 14; where he questions the alleged preview of the fact-finding committee’s finds as being awfully close to the Pangandaman side posted on page 5 of the forum). Add to the various eyewitness accounts, the Incident Report first put online in a scoop by At Midfield.

I’ve taken the liberty of reproducing the efforts of “jick” to put together the two main eyewitness accounts (Bambee dela Paz’s, in green, and a member of the Pangandaman flight, in red) with his observations and his reference to the Guards’ report (in blue):

So this is all very interesting in a CSI sort of way, but it’s interesting to note that the pertinent facts emerged early on and have not changed: an official and his group, beat up a citizen and a minor. The only thing that has changed is that after some time, the officials got out their version and went on a media counter-offensive; and that other details began to be revealed, such as, that the fight may have originally been picked by the citizen; and aside from that, there seems to be imputations of aggressive/unpleasant behavior concerning both dela Paz, Sr. and Pangandaman, Jr. In other words, as with most fights, it was between gorillas. But it was all taken a fight too far (since there were, apparently, two, as was known from the start).

The whole problem is if it had stayed at fight one, the Secretary, the Mayor, et al. would be in the clear and could argue they put a gorilla in his place; fight two showed they were gorillas, too -and with armed goons, to boot.

But I also believe that the window of opportunity, so to speak, for this to be a public issue, has already closed. The moment the dela Pazes took it to court, and the Pangandangans filed their counter-suits, it has become a battle over compensation which is for the courts to decide, and in which the public ought to have little interest -except the more general one, for all cases, that it be concluded by means of a speedy and fair trial. But as far as the political resolution of the political part of this issue: where public pressure ought to have been applied to pressure the Secretary to make manifest his willingness to be held accountable for the incident, and for the President to suspend the Mayor, the chance for that has passed. As it was expected to, of course.

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Manuel L. Quezon III.

150 thoughts on “Like Rashomon

  1. istambay,

    honestly, if that case happen in the US, the mayor will go to jail for beating a minor . the DAR secretary will have to resign for shame.

    i think democracy in the philippines is still in its infancy. it needs to be nurtured. the people is becoming voiceless and scared to fight against any political figure. it is a sad reality.

    I am hoping that all this brouhaha, will send signals to all political figure that they have to uphold what’s written in our Constitution.

  2. “that’s not relevant. the case was not about someone got hit with a golf ball.”

    for the second time, are you sure you are a golfer??? i will be smoking with anger is somebody teed off while i was still in the fairway. it does not matter if nobody got hit. again it is a BIG NO NO !!!! calling any decent golfer here, please explain to ms. leytenian this point. you should try it when you play golf with your amigas.

  3. “honestly, if that case happen in the US, the mayor will go to jail for beating a minor . the DAR secretary will have to resign for shame.”

    newsflash: “leytenian you’re not in kansas anymore!”

  4. no flight must pass me because it annoys me, it gives the impression I’m slow and what not, it disses m

    exaggeration. clueless. naive.

  5. “I am hoping that all this brouhaha, will send signals to all political figure that they have to uphold what’s written in our Constitution.”

    newsflash #2: as long as gma is still in palace no one in government will ever get punished for abusing his/her authority! only those doing the right thing like the whistle blowers will get persecuted(not just prosecuted) by our government.

  6. sometimes the children can cause the dad in trouble.
    – leytenian, January 10th, 2009 at 9:50 am

    Looking at it the other way, the 8-year-old boy caused his dad to be late.

    Catching up with his flight mates, his dad appeared to be “overtaking” another flight. It so happened that an arrogant dad, who btw is very particular to golf etiquette* esp. on the need to ask permission first before playing through** or whatever, got in the way of the 8-year-old boy’s dad.

    So, who really started it all?

    I guess, it’s still anybody’s guess…
    depending on one’s point of view…

    AND common sense.

    —–
    *very particular to Golf etiquette when it crosses his line; not exactly particular when he is the violator (remember the flying balls?)

    **being played through may not really be that easy (according to mrgolf’s Jim Corbett, link given above) esp. for the arrogant dad, MORE SO, if the other dad appears to have overtaken his champion-golfers flight without so much as an obvious by-your-leave

  7. “my two cents on this, let me put it this way, i am mr.dela paz, with my fourteen year old son and eighteen or something daughter, trying to pick a fight with bulky men and with body guards.”-istambay

    istambay,

    that’s ok, can’t argue with that. you’re right. and we are on the same side of the fence, heheh.

    but, you know, sometimes we have to do some balancing act, more so here in manolo’s blog, nakakahiya kay manolo.

    so, if I have to share my two cents on this I will add something more and put it this way…that if I were the pangandaman….

    you know, kids are so fun to be with, we just don’t have the heart to hurt them, is all.

  8. we must be too fixated with the so-called Valley golf incident.

    The Pangandamans, if they were really wrong which in the first place has yet to be rpoven in a court of law, deserve fair treatment.

    Do we have the evidence to prove that they were guilty?

    Let the rule of law prevail and justice done.

    Let us move on.

    Stop the impeachment and destabilzation efforts.

    Puzzled?

    Middle class hypocrites?

    That was how you treated the issues against GMA.

    Now you are crying out lout ofr oune of yout kind.
    Sheesh

  9. I read BW posts here and knowing he is also from my city which host to numerous Public Golf Courses where every resident of the city have the privilege to play at very affordable fees, i never heard any untoward incidents like the de la Paz incident…and the rules is right there in the Parks and Recreation Web for everyone to study before booking their games.

  10. the mayors libel suit against bambee dela paz will not make things better. Suing is on his disadvantage and will make things worst for him. The people has no sympathy for him and yet he is still trying to prove his point. Whether he was wrong or right, it won’t matter. He deserves it.

    Suing for libel confirms his own stupidity and his inability to understand the culture and the people of this country.

  11. “you know, kids are so fun to be with, we just don’t have the heart to hurt them, is all.”

    –as i already stated earlier, you expect any form or shape of intelligence from the pangandamans? or any gma government officials for that matter.

    if mr. dela paz did it the proper way instead of raising hell and getting beat up in the process, including his son, then we won’t be having these discussion if who’s at fault.

  12. “if mr. dela paz did it the proper way instead of raising hell and getting beat up in the process, including his son, then we won’t be having these discussion if who’s at fault”.. istambay

    iba ka rin naman ano, istambay, kung sino pa ang binugbog ng mga sanggano siya pa ngayon ang may sala. onli in da Pilipins!

  13. the bigwig: Kilala mo ba ako!

    Juan: Eh sino ka ba? Anong pakialam ko kung sino ka basta nasa katwiran ako!

    Kailan kaya papalag si Juan de la Cruz?

  14. maiba ako, bakit kaya tahimik ang mga lawyers dito tungkol sa Alabang boys? selective memory or is it too near territory, heheheh.

  15. blogging is now our new revolution. keep it alive

    The main difference between blogging and MSM is that the former is very dynamic. Not only does a blog post take a life of its own (consider Bambee’s)…the blog post can be edited (with a sleight of hand and afterthought) even ad infinitum as events will unfold. Possibly from a one-sided point of view into a more balanced blogging, for instance.

    Moreover, a particular post can be duplicated in a number of different web pages.

    A blog work’s vibrance is what is exemplified in viloriadotnet’s “Obliterated: An Anti Pangandaman Blogger” (I cited above on January 11th, 2009 at 12:21 am).

    A blogger failed to edit her multiplydotcom (somewhat a mirror site of her home blog) initially but now it has been changed ever since viloriadotnet posted the abovementioned blog. Who knows now how long the unedited version will be viewed in Google Cache, nevertheless, the trickery was already done to rectify whatever mistakes or lapses made.

    Even viloriadotnet is guilty with this sleight of hand when he edited and deleted my comments here.

    That’s revolution…

    but I also believe it has to be kept alive.

  16. Now, as what Rom is fond of saying, caveat lector is to be remembered when reading blogs or fora…or anything on the Web for that matter. I believe cum grano salis has to be reminded also.

    Consider again Bambee’s blog post against the Pangandamans…

    There may be some reason to believe that it has metamorphosed from a “wild” post into a “tame” one. A pinoygolfer commenter alerted readers of the possibility of Bambee’s “unsanitized” version of her blog post here:

    bilocano on Mon Jan 05, 2009 at 9:07 pm

  17. Sleight of hand? Well, it is in plain sight, right? It is very obvious that the comment was edited. No sleight of hand there.

    But I will return the link now that it is clearer to me who mentioned the word “linkbait” 🙂

  18. it doesn’t matter what has been said on bambee’s blog. it was more on her immature side but the main point of the blog was never edited and I don’t care.

    if we have to consider personality profiling to build a solid case, the pangandamans can be conceived as the public’s enemy number one.

    if we have to consider environmental foundation, the pangandamans are more dangerous than the dela paz.

    if we have to consider the Constitution’s , the pangandamans were unethical . The DAR secretary had all the power to halt the fight but he never did anything.

    if we have to consider golf etiquette, the pangandamans did not care what etiquttte is. he can annoy people at all ages. he was late to follow the normal Pace of play.

    In terms of abuse of power, the dela paz abused his power at golf course level . The pangandamans abused the power at national level.

    This is our revolution.

  19. Valley Golf verdict: Dela Paz expelled, DAR chief suspended
    SOPHIE DEDACE, GMANews.TV
    01/11/2009 | 01:16 PM

    MANILA, Philippines – Officials from the Valley Golf Course and Country club in Antipolo on Sunday recommended the expulsion of Delfin De la Paz from its roster of members and the suspension of Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman Sr.

    In a two page resolution, the golf course’s board of directors sanctioned Dela Paz for “disorderly behavior” when he instigated the brawl with Masiu town mayor Nasser Pangandaman Jr., his brother Mohammed Hussein Pangandaman, and their bodyguards.

    Nasser Jr and Hussein were banned from entering Valley Golf’s premises.

    Pangandaman Sr., a member of the golf club, was held liable for allowing the actions of his two sons.

    “The board unanimously recommends that Mr. Dela Paz be expelled for his disorderly behavior and instigating the brawl while Nasser Sr. be suspended for a period of two years.”

    Valley Golf spokesperson Teofilo Abejo said in a press briefing that their decision was based on the accounts of marshals, caddies, three house attendants of the executive’s course’s hole number 5, and the statements from both parties.

    Abejo said Valley Golf strongly condemns the incident. – GMANews.TV

  20. “iba ka rin naman ano, istambay, kung sino pa ang binugbog ng mga sanggano siya pa ngayon ang may sala. onli in da Pilipins!”

    –already told people here. i don’t care for neither party, my only point is mr. dela paz was dumb enough to raise hell and got his kids in harms way in process and for what? golf etiquette? and i am not saying the pangandamans were/are saints either. they both deserve each other and they can sort it out without our help. lesson learned for mr. dela paz, and maybe for the pangandamans too.

  21. true the father dela paz will be expelled but his children, bambee and bino will be spared. bambee and bino are promising filipino golfer whereas the mayor pangandaman is a promising filipino boxer 🙂

  22. Now that the club has released its findings on the brawl, will some people still try to exaggerate the incident, blowing it up out of proportions, into a political issue?

  23. @ms.viloria

    i’m glad i’m not in your blog. because i won’t like it if you will speak for me in my comment.

    either you allow my comment in its full text, or, if you don’t like what i’m saying delete it, period.

  24. @Bert – You’re welcome to comment. Inappropriate links, however, will be removed. Removed links which turn out to be not inappropriate afterall, will be restored.

    No, I won’t speak for you in your comments.

    Thanks,
    Mr. Viloria

  25. sleek,

    leytenian is written all over your post. just like bambees blog, its full of biases.

    kape tayo sa starbucks 🙂

  26. Gma News:

    “The Valley Golf officials “banned for life” nonmembers Nasser Jr. and Hussein for “unruly behavior” at the golf course.

    Pangandaman Sr., a member of the golf club, was held “vicariously liable” for the actions of his two sons who were his guests.”

    Take note of “UNRULY BEHAVIOR” and “VICARIOUSLY LIABLE” .

  27. Sleight of hand? Well, it is in plain sight, right? It is very obvious that the comment was edited. No sleight of hand there.

    But I will return the link now that it is clearer to me who mentioned the word “linkbait”

    Thanks, Mr. Viloria, for clarifying things.

    I alerted Filipina Mom as soon as I read your “Obliterated…” blog post. She thinks we’re one and the same OR we’re in collusion…LOL (talk of jumping to conclusions). I’m only fond of googling…part of my research work.

    Anyway, I italicized “trickery” and “sleight of hand” to exaggerate my point on the ease of editing in blogs. In print media, an errata section needs to be printed at a later date.

    I often see “striked through” words or phrases in mlq3’s and PCIJ’s blogs in some of their updated/edited posts. Well, part of professionalism, I think.

  28. VGCC’s decision is unfair. The course can be accountable for the damages incurred by their guests and members.

    1. allowing an 8 year old to be in the golf course
    2. allowing armed bodyguards
    3. no communication given to the dela paz for a possible play through

  29. @baycas

    Hopefully, the professionalism of more blogs will rise in the coming weeks, particularly when it comes to editing.

    I look forward to reading your blog soon, Bay. 🙂

    (Manolo, thank you for bearing with my off-topic comments here.)

  30. I see Istambay’s point.

    I think this was a matter of expectations.

    Now, I’m not a golfer, but the basic assumption here would be that a… certain type of person (elitist insinuations notwithstanding) will be commonly found in the facility. Its like the difference in “etiquette” and even playing styles inside an upscale basketball court as compared to, say, your average street court.

    Perhaps ganun na nga: the elder Dela Paz never imagined it would… degenerate into that beating, or that his son would somehow get involved in it. I’m sure, given that he was supposed to be the one who whacked first, that he was, you know… perhaps at least prepared to get whoomped. Unless passion got the best of him.

    Assuming the VGCC findings are accurate – and God knows what will happen to their rep if they didn’t do an accurate investigation and simply got, you know… pressured – then perhaps the elder Dela Paz is also to blame.

    That aside, I still think there’s something wrong in beating up a 14-year old.

    I’m sorry, but I deal with people like these everyday. I see the kind of arrogance in their security escorts, something often times encouraged and/or even expected by their bosses. And its… galling.

    I remember on the way to work once, this two-vehicle “convoy” cuts in front of us, just here at the PNB branch beside QC Hall as my taxi was making the left to the Circle from Kalayaan. Me bumamaba, naka shades pa at me ID, dun sa tailgater vehicle, presumably yung escorts to. Siyempre, di kami makagalaw, kasi anlaki ng SUV nila in front of us, di ba? And siyempre, nakatingin si taxi driver ko sa harap, di ba?

    Aba, si shades guy, ansama ng tingin sa driver ko at nanuro pa.

    Wth, di ba?

    That is the point here.

    If Dela Paz screwed up, then he should get what is due him. I hope, if the VGCC findings are true, that he has learned HIS lesson.

    But nothing – ABSOLUTELY NOTHING – should excuse what was done to that boy.

    And I bet you the Pangandamans haven’t learned anything. In fact, you saw their crowing about vindication form the club’s actions, di ba?

    Sec, me 14-year old na nabugbog ng bodyguards ng anak mo. Di ka ba man lang nahiya?

  31. A different Twist..Golf Club, its employees charged for the death of the 3 youths in an Accident blame on the Club for serving Alcohol…maybe they police should also investigate if the parties to Antipolo Golf Club rumble were served alcohol before the game.

    Golf club, employees and directors charged over crash that killed 3

    BRACEBRIDGE – Ontario Provincial Police in Bracebridge have laid 34 charges under the Liquor License Act in connection with an accident last summer in which three young men were killed.

    That the group had been at the Lake Joseph Club before the crash which raised questions about the obligations of establishments that serve alcohol.

    The crash happened July 3, 2008, on Peninsula Road near Minett.

    Clublink Corp. of King City is charged with permitting drunkenness on a licensed premises and supplying liquor to apparently intoxicated persons.

    http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/article/569551

  32. After the committee report primarily blaming Delfin de la Paz for initiating the brawl, would those who were so quick to jump to conclusions and let their biases get the best of them be decent enough to apologize for leaping before they looked?

  33. Side-topic:

    BIR/Philippines
    affirm that importation of books is exempt from value-added tax (VAT).

    RN CC2008-0066051

    Dear Sir:

    Greetings! Thank you for communicating with the BIR Contact Center.

    In reply, we affirm that importation of books is exempt from value-added tax (VAT). Please be informed that pursuant to Section 4.109-1 (B) (1) (r) of Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 16-2005 “sale, importation, printing or publication of books and any newspaper, magazine, review or bulletin which appears at regular intervals with fixed prices for subscription and sale and which is not devoted principally to the publication of paid advertisements” is exempt from the value-added tax (VAT).

    For your added information, attached likewise is a soft copy of Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 16-2005.

    For other inquiries, you may visit http://www.bir.gov.ph or call us at 981-8888. We appreciate your continued support.

    Sincerely,

    The BIR Contact Center Team

    E-mail: [email protected]

    The information contained in this communication is intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom it is addressed and others authorized to receive it.

  34. With that Bracebridge incident, involving an fatal accident with people who apparently got drunk at the golf clubhouse, methinks the families only want remuneration , hence the lawsuit with the golf club. If this brawl happened in Canada or US I bet VGCC would have been sued too. There are frigging opportunists everywhere you go duh 🙁

    My point is, if you drink, don’t frigging drive period. It’s your own frigging life. Don’t go around suing people who served your drink. They won’t have time to go to the parking lot and check if you have a designated driver. It’s like suing the tobacco company for selling you cigarettes.

  35. Much talk about the same story for ages. This is like an endless re-run of an old movie. Isn’t there anymore story worth our time?

  36. EQ,

    Although I voted yes in the poll, do you want Puno to really run for president? And for either yes or no, why?

    Bw and Bert,

    Heck, even Obese people sue McDonalds for getting them fat.

  37. The country has again made the wrong decision of allowing a thug from the province to serve his time in jail or at least suspend him from office. Now, the other local officials in the provinces will use the weakness of the Law to their advantage by doing the same shit the Pangandamans did. The Pangandamans are a disadvantage and a liability for our country. Many of them who are in public office have low standards of ethic and moral conduct and yet this country tolerate.

    People, let’s lift our expectation in politics. Our expectations are too low. Let’s raise the bar and demand even more.

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