Impunity

liberty, equality, fraternity

(Free Press editorial cartoon from the 1920s.)

Gentility is supposed to permeate places like country clubs and golf courses. They are the places where the hoi polloi are kept out and where everyone else can see and be seen. When someone like Bambee dela Paz and her family collide with official thugs, the collision isn’t just physical, it’s cultural. The set of rules that keeps the plebs in their place is never supposed to intrude into places where gentility matters.

But power, which relies on armed might to enforce obedience and simulate public respect, by it’s very nature isn’t genteel, can never be civil, will always ride roughshod over others.

I fully sympathize with dela Paz, her father, and her brother: bravo to her for raising hell and bravo to all those who’ve taken up her call for there to be consequences for what happened to them.

There is an irony here, of course: several, actually.

230307_01fg_ad_640

One irony is that gentility is the last thing that really matters in the supposed enclaves of the middle and upper classes, where the old days of black balling potential members because they were scandalous or generally socially unsavory individuals has long disappeared and been replaced by the sort of entitlement culture where mere possession of wealth or influence (the two are joined at the hip like Siamese twins) trumps all other considerations (how obtained and how used?) is what matters.

Another irony is that this incident could only have happened in the national capital, where an altercation in one place can safely be reported by someone when they get home: the metropolis is vast enough for you to be able to get away with blowing the whistle, everyone has kinship ties extended enough, at least among the middle and upper classes, to neutralize those belonging to those with whom you’ve collided.

There is a reason rallies tend to take place in national capitals; there is a reason a young lady can go and blog and have people rally to her cause in sympathy, both expecting something to be done and not having to think through whether the call and rallying to that call will have fatal consequences. It is the existence of a civic culture which is still powerful enough to compel limits on official impunity.

So we have here a clear clash of civilizations: between the entitlement and warlord culture of the provinces, which compels obedience by force, and which doesn’t hesitate to use that force to compel submission by anyone who isn’t part of the ruling clan’s pecking order of enforcers; and the national capital culture which expects self-control of officialdom, which doesn’t think twice about standing up to official bullying; which, even if beaten to a pulp thinks it’s possible to rally support from like-minded people who actually believe in justice and notions of equality -because there are more decent people than the bad.

Still another irony is that People Power is now being mobilized -its first stirrings being the sharing of officially embarrassing news, the stoking of popular outrage, the expression of public opinion, the coming together of a constituency mobilized by shared values- among the sort of people who’d shrugged off so many other acts of official impunity. There is a lesson here somewhere: and it’s a simple one. Impunity eventually sows the seeds of its own destruction. There will always come a time when a line will be crossed, and it’s a line too far.

Which is not to say that this incident will cause a revolution; but it is proof of how reality will always intrude into even the politest of conversations.

The coming year is going to be a showdown, of sorts, between the exponents of the culture of impunity, from the President to her allies on the official and local level. It is a showdown between those who furiously resent a political culture where public opinion matters, where impunity is challenged, and where privilege is supposed to be something subjected to questioning.

In Resistance isn’t futile, I mentioned just one way I oppose impunity: by blowing my horn at official convoys. This holiday season, I had the satisfaction of doing so, to the president’s convoy itself, twice. The second time around, the President passed within spitting distance and the PSG actually craned their necks to get a view at whoever was committing this act of lese majeste. They genuinely seemed startled. I myself was startled to see that the President no longer uses license plate No. 1 on her car. Her limousine has no license plate, at all.

My point is we see this impunity all the time, in small ways, and shrug it off -oddly enough, in the same manner we shrug off the big, spectacular, cases of impunity, too- when we ought to start tying it all together.

And their project next year is to basically abolish public opinion; to reduce it to its component local parts, where public opinion has been muted, and where it can be treated in such a way and such a manner as to be beyond questioning, court cases, heckling, letters to the editor or blog entries demanding resignations: because the trump card of an official when it comes to the provinces is the message every bodyguard represents: you can run, but you can’t hide.

Wait till the Nasser Pangandamans of this country are both members of parliament and ministers of state, ruling over Federal states where their writ is literally and not just figuratively, the law.

You’ve seen what has been unfolding over the past few years and what is out to entrench itself over the first quarter of this year.

The danger is to confuse the forest for the trees. We are susceptible to doing this: shrieking over Estrada’s threatening to run for office, while overlooking the President who cynically released him with a pardon; twisting Cory Aquino’s comments out of all recognition while overlooking how truly mistaken everyone was, to think the President would be a stateswoman and not a thug in skirts; wringing our hands over Mar Roxas’s cussing when no government since martial law has so thoroughly justified cussing because of it’s crossing every line, written or not, expected of officialdom; placing traffic and corporate premiums over public demonstrations of outrage; venomously scorning Jun Lozada while overlooking the officials who wanted him rubbed out and who very nearly managed to do it.

The Japanese had a chance to be welcomed to the Philippines, as they were in many other parts of Asia, as liberating heroes, except they proceeded to slap Filipinos who refused to bow to them; and so, resistance was immediately sparked, even among those disillusioned with the Allied cause. Again, I’m not saying this appalling incident will accomplish anything more than inspire horrified tut-tutting over how tasteless, and ungentlemanly, the President’s official family is. But you never know.

Postscript:

The incident seems destined to get bogged down in Court. Court is appropriate for determining the monentary compensation due the ones beaten up. The Court of Public Opinion is where this ought to be settled politically, and the political solution is twofold: the resignation of the Secretary of Agrarian Reform or his being fired if he refuses to quit; and the suspension of the Secretary’s son, the mayor, immediately. And if those currently angry really want to do something, then they belong to the circles of our society that can effectively embark on a campaign of social ostracism against not just Secretary-father and mayor-son, but, so long as no Executive action is taken, then against the entire official family of the President. This includes the children of officials who drive No. 8 cars to school, at any official beyond the handful mandated by Executive Order as entitled to official escorts, to officials who have more than one bodyguard, and so on.

Officials have quit or been made to resign elsewhere for much less.

Good reads: see Of Golf, the Internet and Elites, and We haven’t really gone anywhere and Piyudal

Avatar
Manuel L. Quezon III.

227 thoughts on “Impunity

  1. justice league,

    typo. Just one adult male there, him. His kids were too young for anything, like 2 years apart they all were. I suppose the pangandamans had no medico legal confirmation of violence related injuries.

    I’m sorry to say the larger angle here is already a ship that’s sailed. Nakakatakot pag ganito especially pag masyado ng insecure mga pols natin. Bodyguards would shoot first and ask questions later in times of extreme political unrest. Think about it. With GMA gunning for an extension, and Erap perhaps running again with vengeance in mind? We need a specific law to keep public spaces safe from pol bodyguards… this is my original argument.

  2. BrianB,

    My dad visited a few hours ago, he just loves cuddling his grandchild. I got reminded of a far ago incident that we are fortunately able to laugh at now.

    My dad and I had just finished eating at an eatery when some guy was going up to the cashier.

    As I was on my way out, my dad suddenly pulled me back and held my head against his chest and even shut my eyes with his hands and told me SHHHHHh…….

    It was so fast. Later my Dad told me that the place was robbed by men with guns and that an accomplice was about to block my way out. He was the one scared for both of us since I couldn’t see anything while the accomplice continued to look at our direction.

    At a time before cellphones, fortunately they were only interested in the eatery’s earnings.

    On our way home, my dad told me in the vernacular, “Son, if they harmed you in any way; you’d likely be mourning for me right now”.

    Understanding my Dad, I told him “Dad, if they did that to you, Mom, ate and kuya would be mourning for both of us”.

    – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

    Your personal story; as incomplete as it was, reads a lot better the first time.

    But now it is apparent that the guy cannot expect much help from his 3 kids in a physical altercation.

    So that just leaves the wife.

    Obviously, you will now have to contend that the wife is of such size or physical prowess that the short balding guy can expect help from her should things go awry between you two. So how large is she?

    I guess its about time you complete your personal story.

    What did you do or what happened that a short balding guy who wouldn’t even dare lift his eyes towards you if he was alone is now willing to fight it out because his family of 3 small kids and a wife happens to be there?

    I’m sorry to say the larger angle here is already a ship that’s sailed. Nakakatakot pag ganito especially pag masyado ng insecure mga pols natin. Bodyguards would shoot first and ask questions later in times of extreme political unrest. Think about it. With GMA gunning for an extension, and Erap perhaps running again with vengeance in mind? We need a specific law to keep public spaces safe from pol bodyguards… this is my original argument.

    First, they didn’t shoot (in this case).

    2) As I read Bambee’s blog, the bodyguards did draw their guns. But she didn’t intimate (at least not in that story) that they pointed those guns at them. There doesn’t seem to be much story on the bodyguards anywhere. Much of what she says is that flightmates of Pangandaman and friends did the beating.

    There was a video once and I think it involved Jiggy Manicad of Channel 7. He went to an outpost that contained some American servicemen in Mindanao back then and the Americans told him to stay where he was. He however continued to proceed and the serviceman drew his gun and placed it belly high and held it with both hands.

    Jiggy was aghast and started to say towards the camera that he was being threatened. The serviceman however said that he just placed his sidearm in the “ready position” and kept saying that when Jiggy kept saying that he was being threatened.

    Eventually Jiggy and his crew went away.

    The older Pangandaman is a cabinet official. Likely those guards came from the PNP or the AFP.

    I guess we’ll have to wait for the investigation to find out what the bodyguards did.

    As such; I have little idea what specific law you want regarding bodyguards of politicians in public spaces.

  3. Who cares who started it? The important thing is we have in front of us a real telenovela where a cruel Mayor of small town throws his weight around and beats up a kid and his old father as the pretty daughter watches.

    It’s almost too predictable what will happen next in this real life telenovela as the equally evil father of this evil mayor mobilizes all his political and financial resources to manipulate the truth. And if that doesn’t work, the antagonists can just eliminate the protagonists in a Romy Diaz-like albeit less creative way beginning with death threats and ending with a one way scuba trip to the bottom of Lanao Lake (or bloody family picnic on the grassy ravines of Antipolo).

    The only difference though is the “bida” in this unravelling real life telenovela is US. The caped crusader to rescue the poor family is the collective public opinion watching this telenovela unfold.

  4. There is absolutely no doubt that the De la Paz’s belong to the priveleged class.

    How many Filipinos can be members of the country club set?

    How many Filipinos can have the whole family play an indolent sport like golf, which not only takes up precious time, but involves large expenses like buying golf clubs, the proper attire, green fees, caddy fees, membership dues and, in most cases, shares in the golf club amounting to millions of pesos, etc., etc.?

    And, inasmuch as some people make sweeping generalizations about the abusive attitude of public officials or the barbarity of Muslims, it can also be argued that members of the country club set are a bunch of loud-mouthed braggarts who feel a sense of entltlement within the confines of their territory, i.e. the country club. Visit any country club or golf club, there is no shortage of “mayabang” types.

  5. “The only difference though is the “bida” in this unravelling real life telenovela is US.”

    US as in “we”. Not the United States. Hehe.

  6. justiceleague, very minor thing, and actually nothing. I just asked his eldest son who was tentative about taking a table if he was indeed taking it. I did not in any way raise my voice or touch the kid. I bowed a little and ask him if the seat was theirs. The rest of the family was comfortably seating on another table quite farther off than where the son was sitting-leaving. It wasn’t too complicated to remember but that’s about it. I believe I wanted the table because it had a good view of the mall where I was waiting for someone. Very trivial, no? I dunno, maybe he knew me or something, who knows? Never intimated anything to me other than invectives. His aggression was very impersonal, just pure aggression. I was about five inches taller. Maybe there was something wrong in his head.

    The other curious thing about the golf course incident is that if there were bodyguards involved then why did the mayor had to get involved. Usually, the case is the bodyguards do the beating and the bodyguards go to jai, an even more horrible predicament for the dela pazes. That’s why we need new laws.

  7. Carl,

    There is absolutely no doubt that the De la Paz’s belong to the priveleged class.

    Will you be providing specific instances regarding the Dela Pazs or will you be ending it here?

  8. BrianB,

    Very trivial, no? I dunno, maybe he knew me or something, who knows?

    Can’t say. Maybe he does.

    This will be a rather personal question and I don’t want to imply any wrongdoing and I will understand if you refuse to answer; but are you gay?

  9. if there were bodyguards involved then why did the mayor had to get involved

    what? leave it to the bodyguards to enjoy the mauling? that’s why they’re paying for bodyguards, so they can enjoy the mauling!

  10. No. Is it relevant to the story? You mean a gay man talking to his son? Sheesh. i find that hard to believe. I don’t dress gay and I don’t talk like a gay man. My assessment of the guy is this: he’s the sort that one bullies in high school. In fact, he would be mistaken for a gay man quite often. He’s the nerdy type, the type na wala talagang maikakasa sa suntukan. I don’t want to beat this thing into a pulp (pun intended), but I had to cite an example because it seems to me people expect all men to act logically and with their family’s safety in mind during these situations. In fact, they don’t. They expect other people to be the gentleman. That’s my point. He probably didn’t expect the violence to escalate, which made him bold.

    Carl, mukhang hindi mayaman ang pamilya.

  11. More assessment. The man, I believe, had very little experience in violence. He never engaged in fist fights. Parang inexperience sa mga situations na pwedeng mag-escalate into something awful. He just had no idea when to stop. I was already leaving, he still kept shouting, unprovoked. Unjust vexation definitely.

  12. BrianB:Wait till the Nasser Pangandamans of this country are both members of parliament and ministers of state, ruling over Federal states where their writ is literally and not just figuratively, the law.”

    BrianB, Am I looking at Afghanistan where every Province or Region has its warlord and the Central Government has only dominion over the Capital Kabul? possibility? now the pass the seeds for the heroin and marijuana, and we will be the biggest exporter of these renewable oils.

  13. Hasn’t gone viral. Before I started the highest was 16k, which means bvery few have played. I just got the perfect score btw… 101,5++

    Vic, wrong quote, not by me.

  14. BrianB,

    Probably relevant depending on your answer. Since the answer is no, then it is definitely not.

    But I don’t think you realize that your assessment of the short balding guy brings your personal story to a full circle.

    So you encountered a short balding guy who you believe wouldn’t even dare lift his eyes towards you and I guess that is even if transgressions were done on him personally.

    You assess that he suffered being bullied back in High School and that he is the “type na wala talagang maikakasa sa suntukan”, has very little experience in violence (except probably violence done unto him), and that he never engaged in fist fights.

    And though you believe that the guy doesn’t expect the violence to escalate; you had there a family man willing to risk it.

    And if you may ask for what.

    For his eldest son!

    You did say that you talked to his kid who was “sitting-leaving.” From where he was seating, what he probably saw was that his son got “bullied” out of a seat. And though he would probably allow such to be done unto him, he was obviously not going to allow his son to suffer the same.

    You are likely right that there was something wrong in his head. Getting bulllied back in your youth can do that.

    And so you see, there seems to be purpose behind his madness.

    But as such; it is commendable that you took the higher road and didn’t allow it to escalate.

  15. no manolo, federalism has nothing to do with the boorish behavior of these thugs. the pangandamans are just that:–mere “pangas” of their masters. tangna, ang sarap gawing pulutan.

  16. Dear Manuel

    Thank you for posting my thoughts which i feel beneficial to all freedom loving Filipinos because the facts speaks for itself.

    To get straight to the point… during the early days of the Pangandamans rampage in the nighlife of cagayan de oro from 1995-2001 at its highest… records of their ghastly behavioir where indeed lodged at the respective police stations in Iligan and CDO but somehow because of their influence these would miraculously disappear from the archives….

    No surprise as they were close to the ex mayors Quijano and Emano who conives with them conviniently because of business interests kaya if u check by now wala.

    Sunstar and Goldstar had an article back in 98 how Hussein threw something at the guards of Xavier University but Google wasnt able to scan them.

    Kaya when i heard them on national news… i was horrified to see them ressurect from a dead zombie turning into a nighmare right there in Manila.

    Tingnan mo mga taga Mindanao halos wala tayong naririnig na complains kasi takot nga except for me brave enough to come here in the internet cafe just to let things out.

    I chose you Manuel because i was u in ANC and your one of our more credible bloggers…..

    As for that Farah Locsin eto message ko in Bisaya…. Day ayaw pag gugma na himu-on kang prinsesa kay bilat ra nimo ang kinanglan nya…

    I said Farah Locsin GF ka daw according a balibalita ni JR if i were you get lost because you dont want to suffer the faith of Irish Barria (check this names on friendster and facebook) na inanakan lang ni Hussein.

    If your after the money.. go ahead and suffer the consequence because u asked for it… sa pag golf nyo palang disaster na so If i were u girl get a life.

    Mga classmates namin ni hussein sa XU nag meet and we were all collective in our thoughts that dapat the They should suffer for their unacceptable behavior……..

    Mga Muslim na yan ina angkin ang Mindanao pero minority lang sila dito coz majority christian mga tao.

    mayor nasser alam mo capable ka sa mga salita mo and hussein trademark mo yang paninipa and pananapak.

    Yung mga babae na ginamit mo yung ang katapat mo sa blogs ngayon…. maski bata pinapatos nyo…. tatay nyo peace negotiator pa naman>> tskk… tskk….

    Blogers Unite! May cabinet revamp ngayong 2009 so patalsikin na yang DAR secretary na yan na walang kwenta! Mga salot !

    Hope the truth will prevail for the Dela Cruz’s

    Thank you MLQ3

    Love Shimvita

  17. Shimvita, you naughty girl. Some of us, like me, maybe only me in this crowd, do understand Visayan (Bisayan, whatever). I always find it amusing when Tagalog speakers use the word “lagay”, which I guess means “put” or “to put”. In Visayan “lagay” means penis.

  18. “BrianB:Wait till the Nasser Pangandamans of this country are both members of parliament and ministers of state, ruling over Federal states where their writ is literally and not just figuratively, the law.”

    BrianB, Am I looking at Afghanistan where every Province or Region has its warlord and the Central Government has only dominion over the Capital Kabul? possibility? now the pass the seeds for the heroin and marijuana, and we will be the biggest exporter of these renewable oils.”

    That’s a possibility in Federal state. Additionally, it would be a “legal army” the National Guard whose loyalty is to the state governor and not to the President or Federal government. That’s what happened in the Red River stand off, between TX and OK, and in Alabama between National Guard and the Federal Army. Battles between National Guards among states and Federal Army have been depicted in several movies. So, this situation should be debated thoroughly if they decide to adopt a Federal Form of government….the government which I think is inferior to what we have now.

  19. Some people want to act like prosecuting lawyers, yet refuse to heed all circumstantial and corroborative proof that the De la Pazes are full-fledged members of the country-club set.

    In today’s Inquirer, Delfin De la Paz is mentioned as a fishpond owner. And you can’t be a small fishpond owner and play golf all day, together with all the members of your family. Siguro naman hindi fisherman lang yung mama. The average Juan de la Cruz can hardly afford to buy fish, let alone be a fishpond owner. Besides, poor fishermen don’t have the luxury of wasting their time just hitting a ball to a hole. Much less have the whole family join in this expensive exercise.

    Bambee De la Paz is a student at UConn. Aba U.S. university yan. Hindi biro magpaaral sa U.S. Kahit sabihin may golf scholarship, the incidental expenses can’t be afforded by the Juan de la Cruzes, especially those who don’t have fishponds. Besides, it would have required years of daily practice, come rain or shine, to develop skills that would qualify a person for a U.S. golf scholarship. It would take too much time and money for the average Filipino to be able to develop a junior golf champion in the family. So much so, it is inconceivable. The only regular Filipinos who make it in golf are caddies. And they do backbreaking work from a young age in order to earn their keep.

    Actually, it doesn’t take a genius to see that the De la Pazes are country club types. Some people are just too desperate to make this silly incident a rallying point, tying to represent it as an assault on Everyman. People are entitled to their opinions, but this is most definitely a stretch of the imagination.

    And if people want to stereotype Muslims and government officials, there is also the stereotypical country-club bumpkin.

  20. Carl,

    Some people want to act like prosecuting lawyers, yet refuse to heed all circumstantial and corroborative proof that the De la Pazes are full-fledged members of the country-club set.

    Since you are lumping the Dela Pazs as members of the privileged class who supposedly treats the rest of the Filipinos like shit; maybe its best if you provide certain instances of the Dela Pazs acting as such so we can judge it for ourselves.

    Or are you going to be ending here with just generalities about the De la Pazs?

    And if people want to stereotype Muslims and government officials, there is also the stereotypical country-club bumpkin.

    Your premise is that there is a stereotype regarding Muslims and government officials.

    If there is indeed a stereotype of Muslims and government officials; will you be arguing that the Pangandamans do NOT deserve to be stereotyped as such?

    Your other premise is that there is a stereotype country club bumpkin.

    So please show instances that the De la Pazs deserve to be categorized as stereotypical country-club bumpkin other than that Delfin De la Paz is a large fish pond owner and that Bambee De la Paz is a student of a U.S. university or that the whole family plays golf all day.

  21. He who asserts his own views is not distinguished;
    He who vaunts himself does not find his merit acknowledged.
    The “Pangandaman ” clan is accustomed in their wicked ways, and coming to the Metropolis, they think they can raise havoc too. Everyone has his/her end and its only a matter of how. Saddam Hussein’s sons were also A-holes to the max. They thought they were untouchables too. Guess not!
    Pangandaman version of the story, well, it may fly when your in your lttle hometown and almost everyone is in fear or complainant ‘s are already six feet under. If it’s not going to be whitewashed with a poker-face, the victims are going to be reversed as the villain, the rage starter. What a pitiful ( DoJ) we have, greedy self centered politicians. Oh! by the way, GMA was never people-elected Pres after Erap fell nor is she now (hello Garci) a real Pres, everything was cheated,paid and or bribed for, ooppppss! SO forget Madame Pres, you don’t deserve s*#$.

  22. justceleague,

    oh my God, you’re right. Never thought about it that way. Never really looked at the boy. My voice to him was low and avuncular, I thought, but it’s possible he felt shooed away. You’re so right.

  23. Again let me just correct this attribution:
    ————————————————————————————–
    “BrianB:Wait till the Nasser Pangandamans of this country are both members of parliament and ministers of state, ruling over Federal states where their writ is literally and not just figuratively, the law.”
    ————————————————————————————
    Not mine, someone else’s. I’m nitpicking, yes, but author, whoever he is, should be credited.

  24. justiceleague, thanks, btw. Must’ve taken you a lot of time trying to fix a guy’s mind online. 🙂 The thing is, when someone’s poking a finger at you, you couldn’t really think much. Thank God I didn’t do anything though I felt humiliated.

  25. There are none so blind as those who refuse to see.

    The Filipino priveleged class has, in fact, treated the rest of Filipino society like shit. Otherwise, this country wouldn’t be in such a mess. Witness how the priveleged class sucked up to the colonizers, Spanish and American, in order to advance themselves at the expense of the rest. Witness how the priveleged class has myopically prevented progressive laws or measures, just to be able to control or hold sway over the economic pie.

    As for the De la Pazes being of the priveleged class, the facts speak for themselves. Would they not be big fishpond owners and members of the country club set if they were not priveleged?

    Obviously some people just want to split hairs. And to stretch matters beyond what they really are.

  26. There is no question that de la Paz belong to the privileged group. The problem here is how the members of the privileged group act with impunity, a la feudal times.

    I think in the end, nothing will happen here, these privileged groups will reconcile. If not, the one with a bigger Ninong will win, de la Paz…he is from Pampanga, I think, that will weigh heavier than being in the cabinet. We know how it works now in RP, don’t we?

  27. @Carl
    You’re generalizing. The question is not whether they’re members of the privileged class, it’s whether they treat other people like shit. No evidence of that coming from you except the general observation that “The Filipino priveleged class has, in fact, treated the rest of Filipino society like shit. ”

    justice league re: brianb: “But as such; it is commendable that you took the higher road and didn’t allow it to escalate.”

    Which proves that BrianB knows how to behave in public better than the Pangandamans 🙂 If the Pangandamans were decent government officials and their bodyguards were trained properly, they would’ve done the same thing. They would’ve neutralized the threat with the minimum force necessary and they pressed the proper charges if applicable.

    They’re government officials so we need to hold them to higher standards.

  28. just a note: feudalism involved both privileges rights and obligations. this isn’t a case of feudal behavior in the strict sense, it’s the brawling macho culture meets the warlord culture. if it had been a brawl between hot-headed golfers no one would give damn.

  29. So, we should now just forget this episode just because the victims are wealthy fish pond owners and country club types? Don’t these people deserve justice, too?

    Some people’s values are awfully twisted.

  30. Carl,

    There are none so blind as those who refuse to see.

    There are none so noisy as those who talk and talk but who have nothing to say.

    The Filipino priveleged class has, in fact, treated the rest of Filipino society like shit. Otherwise, this country wouldn’t be in such a mess. Witness how the priveleged class sucked up to the colonizers, Spanish and American, in order to advance themselves at the expense of the rest. Witness how the priveleged class has myopically prevented progressive laws or measures, just to be able to control or hold sway over the economic pie.

    As for the De la Pazes being of the priveleged class, the facts speak for themselves. Would they not be big fishpond owners and members of the country club set if they were not priveleged?

    I’ve been re-reading your posts (yeah, I’m not blind). All you have come up so far is that the De la Pazs are entrepreneurs and do not need to rely on government money to play golf all day.

    You have not come up yet with anything specific against the De la Pazs to warrant them being labelled as having “treated the rest of the Filipinos like shit”.

    Your idea is like guilt by association.

    Well I’ve heard the phrase “mangmang ang mga mahirap”. But I didn’t buy that then and I still don’t.

    If you got anything else to sell, well we’ll see then. Who knows, it may be interesting.

    But you’re in luck for a Prosperous New Year.

    Seems there is at least one here willing to buy your product. You two should talk business.

    Pilipinoparin,

    I think in the end, nothing will happen here, these privileged groups will reconcile

    That is always a possibility.

    There is no question that de la Paz belong to the privileged group. The problem here is how the members of the privileged group act with impunity, a la feudal times.

    Isa ka pa.

    If you have anything specific on Dela Paz as acting with impunity, a la feudal times; expose it already so we can judge it for ourselves.

    Missingpoints,

    Cheers and Happy New Year.

    BrianB,

    Like I stated, it’s commendable that you took the higher road.

    Cheers and Happy New Year.

    To all of us, may we all have a Happy and Prosperous New Year! Cheers.

  31. (mlq3 :if it had been a brawl between hot-headed golfers no one would give damn.)

    if it is indeed between two A-**les mayors or between to well capable individual who could ponder each jab and return each punch, then its ok. even it will degrade their status as public officials, its still ok. its their problem. but enjoying every punch, every blow you throw to a 14 yr old golfer,… that is something good, isnt it Mayor uhu

  32. Carl,
    Who is this “the privileged class” you hate so much?

    Are those who became wealthy through hard work included in this privileged class?

    Are they not allowed to enjoy and share the fruits of their labor with their family?

    So they play golf, what’s wrong with that?

    So they chose to join a country club, what’s wrong with that?

    What’s your idea of a pasa tiempo? Is there a politically correct way to enjoy time with one’s family?

    If a man owns a fishpond and it’s earning enough so he can play golf with his children, join country clubs, and send his children to school abroad and motivate them to become golf champions then more power to him.

    There’s nothing wrong with becoming wealthy through hard work. Even Marx said “To each according to his abilities…etc.”

    What’s with the brick on your shoulder?

  33. What is good for the goose is good for the gander.

    People have been posting very insulting generalities about Muslims, just because some Muslims may have behaved improperly. Even worse, they have made references to violence against this particular minority.

    So, if people want to make sweeping statements damning Muslims, it must be pointed out that the non-Muslim Filipino middle and upper classes aren’t lilly-white and they do have their flaws that can also be damned.

  34. Justice,

    I was referring to the mayor and cohorts as privileged group, act with impunity and like warlords in their territory ( that is based on the reports I have read, I was not a witness). Both groups are privileged, one group is acting inappropriately. The outcome in this brawl may depend on the “Ninongs” as what happens in most cases of brawls in RP, poor vs poor, poor vs rich, rich vs rich. I have little confidence in law and justice in RP, the exception is JC Puno. That’s my opinion, others may have different views.

    Manigong Bagong Taon po sa lahat!

  35. I give this “Valley goif affair” one more week. After that. Another forgotten case.

    Consdiring that it was more of a personal fight, i was amazed it hugged the net this long.

    but outside the net where public opinion can really be gauged, the isssue is hardly being talked about.

    When a Pasig mayor punched a radio reporter of Radio Veritas back in 1983 and caught on camera, people talked aboput the incident endlessly.

    That was because the incident intertwined with the current political situation during that time.

    And that is lacking in Valley golf affair.

    The public cannot resonate.

  36. kaminaman: “Consdiring that it was more of a personal fight, i was amazed it hugged the net this long.”

    Bakasyon. Walang magawa ang mga taong nagbababad sa internet.

  37. Pilipinoparin,

    Very well.

    But you stated “There is no question that de la Paz belong to the privileged group. The problem here is how the members of the privileged group act with impunity, a la feudal times.”

    If you had omitted “the”; I think I would not have reacted the way I did.

    Anyway, cheers.

    Kaminaman,

    “When a Pasig mayor punched a radio reporter of Radio Veritas back in 1983 and caught on camera, people talked aboput the incident endlessly.”

    If you are referring to Mayor Caruncho; its an election period in 1981 so I hardly remember what political situation you are referring to.

    And getting caught on camera was a big factor.

    Pag nga me nambatok e tinatawag namin na Mayor Caruncho nung panahon na iyon e.

    I give this “Valley goif affair” one more week. After that. Another forgotten case.

    There are a lot of cases/issues we should be vigilant about.

    Just because it is “forgotten” doesn’t mean it is not important to everyone/anyone.

    Are you aware of the UNCLOS? If you were, do you remember its importance? We just might wake up sometime this year to find out that we no longer own this or that territory.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.