At around 1:30 PM today, at Valley Golf and Country Club, Antipolo City, Mayor Nasser Pangandaman, Jr., Mayor of Masiu City, Lanao del Sur, his father, Secretary Nasser Pangandaman of the Department of Agrarian Reform, and company, beat my defenseless 56-year-old dad and my 14-year-old brother to a pulp because of some stupid misunderstanding on the golf course.

This is a golf course. I have been a golfer all my life, and I have never seen anything like this. NOTHING. This is hard to comprehend. And it happened to my own father and my own brother too. Right in front of my eyes.

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.

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?!

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?!” I pull at his shirt–I don’t let go. All I can see was my dad being trampled on. I didn’t even see my brother getting beat up.

People pull them away. I get my dad, and I saw my brother. His right ear was bleeding. I freaked out. I told the receptionists to bring my brother to the clinic. I pull my dad away. People were separating us.

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 am pretty sure the Secretary of DAR did not take part in the fight, but he just watched all this happen. He watched two of his sons, as we figured out, the other guy was his son, too, beat up my father and my 14-year-old brother. He didn’t do anything to stop it. And this person is what now? A cabinet member. A politician.

Sounds like something out of a movie, doesn’t it? But this is what happened. TODAY. The day after Christmas. To my family. And all I ask for is JUSTICE. The people at Valley Golf did not seem to want to help us. None of the security guards even tried to stop the fight. Right in the clubhouse. I came back after the fight was over and talked to the receptionists. They say they did not see anything. The general manager of Valley Golf would not give us the names of the men who made my brother’s ear bleed. It took him an hour. Maybe even more than that. He seemed to not want to help us. Because, we were against the SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRARIAN REFORM and the MAYOR OF MASIU CITY, LANAO DEL SUR. They were all scared.

The world is has gone crazy. Two politicians beat up a defenseless 56-year-old father and his 14-year-old son. At a golf course. I swear to God, I thought golfers were decent people. You would think politicians were decent people. I guess not. I guess they gang up on 56-year-old men and beat up pleading 14-year-old kids.

Please pray for my dad, my brother and for my whole family. Please pray that we get JUSTICE. Oh God, please, give these people what they deserve.

Here are related links:

http://pinoytanga.wetpaint.com/page/the+world+has+gone+crazy#link

http://pinoytange.blogspot.com/

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/141440/Sec-Pangandaman-di-kasama-sa-gulpihan-sa-golf-course—-report

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/141418/DAR-chief%E2%80%99s-son-5-bodyguards-face-charges-for-alleged-mauling-of-2-golfers

Is the Filipino youth apathetic and indifferent to the plight of our country? That is a question that I am often asked by my friends who seem to be frustrated with the seeming lack of concern and action from the Filipino youth. My answer to this question is simple, I don’t agree that young Filipinos don’t care anymore about our country, they want and can do something but they just don’t know how they can contribute positively in our society. In this regard, I’d like to share my own views of how young Filipinos can get involved in creating a better Philippines.

1.) Register and Vote in the upcoming 2010 National Elections. One of the major problems in our country today is our lack of effective and ethical leaders who will set aside their self-interest for the sake of the common good. In 2010, a great majority of Filipino voters will be aged between 18-35 years old thus, this is a perfect opportunity for young Filipinos to shape our country’s future by choosing the right leaders who will lead our country out of poverty. You can help encourage young Filipinos to register and vote by joining IamChange 2010, send an email to the organizers at kai.pastores@ yahoo.com or you can contact them at (02) 426-5657.

2.) Keep yourself informed about what’s happening in our country. In a talk that I gave last summer to a group of college students, I asked them if they knew the different between the roles of a congressman and a mayor. 95% of them said no. This was disheartening since they were already college students studying at a prestigious university. If we really care about our country, we should make a conscious effort to know what is happening around us by reading the newspaper, watching the news or simply taking time to visit websites that contain news about the Philippines.

3.) Harness the power of the Internet to share your sentiments about issues in our country. With the rapid growth of social networking sites and blogs, young Filipinos are now able to easily share their opinions and views with the rest of the world. This can be an effective means of sharing with your friends your views about different issues in our country and by doing so you can help generate more awareness and concern about particular issues and advocacies that need to be pushed for the betterment of our society. If you have time, visit my blog at http://filipinochan gemaker.blogspot .com .

4.) Share your books with public school students. The state of Education in our country is in a crisis. We have students who reach high school without even learning how to comprehend a Grade 3 textbook. This problem is compounded by the fact that less than 15% of our public elementary schools have adequate and functional libraries. How can we teach students to read if they don’t have books that they can read? If you want to donate books or start a book drive for our public schools, you can get in touch with AHON Foundation by sending an email to ahonfoundation@ gmail.com or calling (02) 683-0262 local 109.

5.) When you go abroad or meet foreigners, share nice things about the Philippines. If you watch CNN or BBC, there are advertisements wherein countries showcase their beautiful places and encourage tourists to come and visit. This is being done since tourism can be a major driver in the economy and development of a country since it not only brings in dollars to the country but it also provides livelihood opportunities for the local communities. Given the meager budget we have to promote our country abroad, we can help by sharing nice things about the Philippines when we meet foreigners and through this we are able to encourage them to take time to visit our country’s most beautiful places and enjoy the world famous Filipino hospitality.

6.) If you can, don’t leave the country. Many of our best minds like our teachers are leaving the country in search of better opportunities and the effects are already showing in our public schools where there is a lack of highly skilled English, Math and Science Teachers. I totally understand and don’t blame those who come from very poor families which decide to work abroad to provide a better quality of life for their families, some of them may have no other choice than to leave. But for those that have a choice and live a relatively comfortable life here, then I hope you can consider staying and working here to contribute towards moving our country forward. For those who decide to leave, I hope you don’t forget to give back to the Philippines by helping send a poor but deserving student to school or sending books that our public school students can still use.

7.) Volunteer your time and Share your skills for causes that are bigger than yourself. According to studies on what makes people genuinely happy, being able to help and take part in causes that are bigger than yourself is one of the most fulfilling and happiest experiences. There are so many non-profit organizations and foundations that are currently doing their own share in helping change the Philippines but for them to reach more people and do more good work, they often need volunteers who can commit time to help in their activities. For example, Pathways to Higher Education-Philippin es needs volunteer tutors who can commit 2-3 hours a week to help poor but deserving public high school students gain access to quality higher education. Another example is Museo Pambata which looks for volunteer tour guides and storytellers who can help in entertaining and educating children who visit the Museum. You can visit the Pathways website at http://www.pathways philippines. org or call them at (02) 4266001 local 4048.

8.) Join advocacy groups that promote good governance in our country. According to a study made by the World Bank, the Philippines is one of the most corrupt countries in Asia wherein billions of pesos are lost every year due to rampant graft and corruption in our government. These billions of pesos could’ve been used to build homes for the poor, provide quality healthcare to the sick and build enough public school classrooms for the Filipino youth but instead they money just goes to the pockets of a few elite families which govern our country. It is no wonder why the poor remain poor in the country while those in power continue to drive around our streets in their brand new luxury vehicles. In order for us to achieve genuine and lasting reforms in our country, we need to work together to promote greater transparency and accountability in our government leaders. If you are interested to volunteer and join the fight against corruption, you can join TEAM RP by sending an email to team.rp.official@ gmail.com .Insights and comments are welcome at harveykeh@gmail. com.

Please feel free to post this in your blogs or share it with your friends. Let us all work together for a Better Philippines!

In the book “Orientalism” by Edward Said he fought for the Western view about the Islamic movement in the Eastern world. Undauntedly correcting the representation made by the Western press about the real conditions in the Islam World. Clearly making a goos point on Iraq where years after the US is now thinking maybe Mr. Said is right.

Here in our country, I believe, journalism is dictated by patronage as ex President Fidel Ramos once quipped- “Kung pro government ka magbasa ka ng Star, kung galit ka Inquirer, pag di mo na alam kung sino ka, Malaya?” So who is going to write about what is the real situation in this country? Do we still have writers who have balls to write about what is right or moral? Do we have still young men of letters who can write for the future of their motherland? I still dream…..I can name a few but would rather keep it close to my chest and let the people judge for themselves.

In the meantime….I DREAM…..Tanga ako eh!

Every night, I come home and am compelled to turn on my tv to watch the latest turn of events. I am mesmerized by these characters. They are not men. They are caricatures of men – too unreal to be believable and too bad to be real. To see these ╲honorableâ•¡ crooks lambast each other, call each one names, look each other in the eye and accuse the other of committing the very same crimes that they themselves are guilty of, is so comical and apalling that I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. It is entertainment at its worst!

I have never seen so many criminals roaming around unfettered and looking smug until now. These criminals wear suits and barongs, strut around with the confidence of the rich and famous, inspire fear and awe from the very citizens who voted them to power, bear titles like “Honorable”, “Senator”¡, “Justice”¡, “General”¡ and worse, “President”¡. Ironically, these lawless individuals practice law, make our laws, enforce the law. And we wonder why our policemen act the way they do! These are their leaders, and the leaders of this nation Robin Hoodlum and his band of moneymen. Their motto? “Rob the poor, moderate the greed of the rich.”¡

It makes me wonder where on earth these people came from, and what kind of upbringing they had to make them act the way they do for all the world to see. It makes me wonder what kind of schools they went to, what kind of teachers they had, what kind of environment would produce such creatures who can lie, cheat and steal from an already indebted country and from the impoverished people they had vowed to serve. It makes me wonder what their children and grandchildren think of them, and if they are breeding a whole new generation of improved Filipino crooks and liars with maybe a tad more style but equally negligible conscience. Heaven forbid!

I am an ordinary citizen and taxpayer. I am blessed to have a job that pays for my needs and those of my family’s, even though 30% of my earnings go to the nation’s coffers. Just like others in my lot, I have complained time and again because our government could not provide enough of the basic services that I expect and deserve. Rutty roads, poor educational system, poor social services, poor health services, poor everything. But I have always thought that was what all third world countries were all about, and my complaints never amounted to anything more.

And then this. Scandalous government deals. Plundering presidents pointing fingers. Senators associated with crooks. Congressmen who accept bribes. Big time lawyers on the side of injustice. De Venecia ratting on his boss only after his interminable term has ended, Enrile inquiring about someone’s morality! The already filthy rich Abalos and Arroyo wanting more money than they or their great grandchildren could ever spend in a lifetime. Joker making a joke of his own “pag bad ka, lagot ka!”¡ slogan. Defensor rendered defenseless. Gen. Razon involved in kidnapping. Security men providing anything but a sense of security. And it’s all about money, money, money that the average Juan de la Cruz could not even imagine in his dreams. Is it any wonder why our few remaining decent and hardworking citizens are leaving to go work in other countries?

And worst of all, we are once again saddled with a power-hungry president whose addiction has her clinging on to it like barnacle on a rusty ship. “Love (of power) is blind”¡ takes a whole new meaning when PGMA time and again turns a blind eye on her husband’s financial deals. And still blinded with all that is happening, she opts to traipse around the world with her cohorts in tow while her country is in shambles.

They say the few stupid ones like me who remain in the Philippines are no longer capable of showing disgust. I don’t agree. Many like me feel anger at the brazenness of men we call our leaders, embarrassment to share the same nationality with them, frustration for our nation and helplessness at my own ineffectuality. It is not that I won’t make a stand. It is just that I am afraid my actions would only be futile. After all, these monsters are capable of anything. They can hurt me and my family. They already have, though I may not yet feel it.

But I am writing this because I need to do something concrete. I need to let others know that ordinary citizens like me do not remain lukewarm to issues that would later affect me and my children. I want to make it known that there are also Filipinos who dream of something better for the Philippines . I want them to know that my country is not filled with scalawags and crooks in every corner, and that there are citizens left who believe in decency, fairness, a right to speak, a right to voice out ideas, a right to tell the people we have trusted to lead us that they have abused their power and that it is time for them to step down. I refuse to let this country go to hell because it is the only country I call mine and it is my responsibility to make sure I have done what I could for it.

Those of us who do not have the wealth, power or position it needs to battle the evil crime lords in the government can summon the power of good.

We can pray. We can do this with our families every night. We can offer petitions every time we celebrate mass. We can ask others to pray, too, including relatives and friends here and overseas. And we can offer sacrifices along with our petitions, just so we get the message to Him of our desperation in ridding our nation of these vermin. After all, they cannot be more powerful than God!

I implore mothers out there to raise your children the best way you can. Do not smother, pamper, or lavish them with too much of the material comforts of life even if you can well afford them. Teach them that there are more important things in this world. I beg all fathers to spend time with their children, to teach them the virtues of hard work, honesty, fair play, sharing, dignity and compassion “right from the sandbox” till they are old enough to go on their own. Not just in your homes, but at work, in school, everywhere you go. Be good role models. Be shining examples for your children so they will learn to be responsible adults who will carry and pass on your family name with pride and honor. &nb sp; I call on educators and teachers, we always underestimate the power of your influence on the minds of our youth. Encourage them to be aware of what is happening in their surroundings. Instill in them a love of their country, inculcate in them the value of perseverance in order to gain real, worthwhile knowledge, help us mold our children into honorable men and women. Encourage our graduates, our best and brightest, to do what they can to lift this country from the mire our traditional politicians have sunk us
into. The youth is our future and it would be largely because of you, our educators, that we will be able to repopulate the seats of power with good leaders, presidents, senators, congressmen, justices, lawmakers, law enforcers and lawful citizens.

I ask all students, young people and young professionals everywhere to look around and get involved in what is happening. Do not let your youth be an excuse for failure to concern yourselves with the harsh realities you see. But neither let this make you cynical, because we need your idealism and fresh perspective just as you need the wisdom of your elders. YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU! Let your voices be heard. Do what you can for this land that gave you your ancestors and your heritage. Use technology and all available resources at hand to spread good. Text meaningful messages to awaken social conscience. Try your best to fight moral decay because I promise you will not regret it when you become parents yourselves. You will look back at your past misdeeds and pray that your children will do better than you did.

Remember that there are a few handful who are capable of running this country. You can join their ranks and make their numbers greater. We are tired of the old trapos. We need brave idealistic leaders who will think of the greater good before anything else. I voted for Atty. Martin Bautista and his team and I sure hope they will run again. Do your utmost to excel in your chosen field. Be good lawyers, civil servants, accountants,computer techs, engineers, doctors, military men so that when you are called to serve in government, you will have credibility and a record that can speak for itself.

For love of this country, for the future of our children, for the many who have sacrificed and died to uphold our rights and ideals, I urge you to do what you can. As ordinary citizens, we can do much more for the Philippines than sit around and let crooks lead us to perdition. We owe ourselves this. And we owe our country even more.

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Edison Chen a young singer,very popular because of his good looks and flamboyant style was blackmailed by his computer repairman when the lucky guy hit lotto and found the sex videos and pictures of the star in his PC that he sent for repair(How stupid!!)

Gloria Macapagal was exposed by her own staff of conniving with government officials to push through with a telecommunication project with kickbacks amounting to as much as US$200M.

Turmoils and denials. While the Hingkong star admitted being guilty by virtue of ownership of the lewd exposures the polticians here at home were playing their denial games and pretending as if nothing happened.

Which one has a higher morality ratio the politicians or the star?

I recently read that love is entirely a matter of chemistry.
That must be why my wife treats me like toxic waste.
David Bissonette

When a man steals your wife, there is no better revenge than to let him
keep her.
Sacha Guitry

After marriage, husband and wife become two sides of a coin; they just
can’t face each other, but still they stay together.
Hemant Joshi

By all means marry. If you get a good wife, you’ll be happy. If you get
a bad one, you’ll become a philosopher.
Socrates

Woman inspires us to great things, and prevents us from achieving them.
Dumas

The great question… which I have not been able to answer… is, ‘What
does a woman want?
Sigmund Freud

I had some words with my wife, and she had some paragraphs with me.
Anonymous

Some people ask the secret of our long marriage. We take time to go to
a restaurant two times a week. A little candlelight, dinner, soft music
and dancing. She goes Tuesdays, I go Fridays.’
Henny Youngman

‘I don’t worry about terrorism. I was married for two years.’
Sam Kinison