A Challenge to Bambee dela Paz and Other Bloggers
Bloggers who benefited from the power of blogging to correct the injustice done to them have a duty to pay society back. And the only way I can think of is for them to raise hell, too, about the injustice done to other people.
By Carlos H. Conde
There is injustice in the world. The family of Bambee dela Paz, the golfer whose father and brother were manhandled by the sons of Agrarian Reform Secretary and peace negotiator Nasser Pangandaman Sr., knows this only too well.
Bambee’s post about the mauling has since exploded on the Internet and single-handedly turned the table against a powerful family with a direct line to the president. This underscored once again the potential of the Internet to be used by victims to seek justice. Bambee and her family are lucky to have such a medium in their arsenal. I don’t think I can say the same thing about other poorer Filipinos who have been victimized by those in power.
Blogging is, by its very nature, a personal medium. This is why bloggers tend to write much more forcefully about an injustice if it hits them on a personal level, as it did the dela Pazes.
But as we’ve seen in this case – and in other cases as well, most notably the Brian Gorrell imbroglio – once you blog about a wrong done to you, the whole blogosphere runs to your side, offering help and encouragement, even vengeance on your behalf. Once this happens, the mission to correct an injustice becomes a lot less personal — it becomes a movement.
If there’s one thing the Pangandamans probably regretted by now, it is that they did not check first if the people they violated had a blog, which, as we’ve seen, can be mightier than the goons of a trapo. The Pangandamans, powerful and arrogant, have been shamed and are now pleading to bloggers to please stop the vitriol. For this alone, the dela Pazes have scored a victory.
Now, for Bambee and her supporters, the inevitable question arises: Is this it? We have demonstrated that we have so much power as bloggers, and is this it? What next?
The thing about blogging is that it is so personal that whatever you post on your blog naturally flows from your experiences. So one moment you raise hell about the arrogance of those in power and, the next, you wonder aloud why the lip gloss you just bought doesn’t seem to have enough sheen. Truth be told, movements like Bambee’s are few and far between. Much of the blogosphere is inundated with stuff that are irrelevant, inconsequential and, well, personal. Then again, as I pointed out above, that is the original nature of blogging.
The key word is “original” because, as we’ve seen, blogging is evolving. Blogging today is much different from blogging four or five years ago. Five years ago, blogs are like Twitter today: the medium is there and you’re still figuring out how to use it, so you publish just about anything, such as the crappy movie you and your girlfriend are watching or the hot chick you are ogling at the supermarket counter. These tell a thing or two about you or what you are doing but, in the larger scheme of things, they are meaningless and irrelevant. But is this all that we can do with a medium so evidently powerful?
Today, blogging, apart from being both a narcissistic and cathartic exercise of self-expression among millions, is a potent information tool. News organizations use it to complement their journalism (take note: complement, not supplant). Activists use it to promote their cause. Victims use it to right a wrong.
I guess what I’m saying is that bloggers like Bambee can – and should – use their newfound power and influence to right the wrongs done on other people. And, by God, there is so much injustice being committed out there! Yet, except in the circles of activists and human-rights advocates, I have not seen the same level of outrage in the blogosphere over the disappearance of Jonas Burgos, of Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan, of the atrocity done to Remegio Saladero Jr. and the hundreds of human-rights victims in the Philippines as we have witnessed in the Pangandaman incident.
A post thanking your multitude of supporters is nice but not quite enough. Bloggers who benefited from the power of blogging to correct the injustice done to them have a duty, I believe, to pay society back. And the only way I can think of is for them to raise hell, too, about the injustice done to other people, particularly the oppressed ones – those who are too poor and marginalized to even own a computer, let alone know that there is such a thing as a blog.
Carlos H. Conde is a journalist based in Manila.
grabe iton nangyaying to those powerful in government should stop doing this.there should be justice to ur family.so there will be no other victims.
Pangandamans are the most corrupt politicians in lanao sur.That’s why they never win in election until now.They were only there because of Pres.GMA.Pla Madam president invistigate further the case because that son mayor nasser never stayed in Masiu even for 32 hours,though he’s their mayor.he’s not reporting neither serving his people.they are only after of era for their personal expenses.This is former Mayor of Masiu Arimao meno Menor
Madam President Arroyo please order Sec.Nasser Pangandaman to resign his post.They cannot help you in anyway because they are not doing good in Lanao.They never win in election.Had it not been of his designation as secretary they wouldnt be able to buy votes in Municipality of Masiu.His son mayor never serve nor report in his office because he’s staying there in Manila doing some nasty things like that of his vices.His close kin are the one managing the entire municipality of Masiu.And the father is tolerating such a corrupt ,attitudes and dirty minds and actions of his son.Both of them are viruses in the system.They are only after of era,for their personal expenses,fame and popularity.Through fervent prayers,hope they would resign.deped family of lanao del sur
The 75million project of DAR in Maguindanao province were given by Sec.Nasser Pangandaman to Regl.Gov.Zaldy Ampatuan as a bribe for them to get the item of Schools Division Superintendent vacated by Retired Supt.Bagul because they planned that they would be powerful even more if they would get such position for their personal interest in election in the future.Hence,even outsider and a simple librarian clerk of Mindanao State University Normillah Pangandaman got the said item.Many high ranking officials and next in rank to the post were bypassed because of this kind of too much politicking in our society.Please dig further the case.many teachers in Lanao sur 1A Division has been complaining and discontented.Their School Supt N.Pangandaman have NO DECISION making because she is being maneuvered by the barbarian Pangandamans.Her liason officer is her hipag,the accountant is her bilas.The staff and most of her designated officials in the division office are all her closest kin from Masiu,in short NEPOTISM is being applied by the Pangandamans.There were so many detailed personnel flower vase in her office not reporting in the field.Her other bilas with principal items are staying in the office as flower vase.the district supervisor of masiu also a Pangandaman is also the decision maker in the division office because they maneuvered the supt who has no decision making.In short and indeed,rampant corruptions are very visible.They are the one selling the teacher item from 100,000 to 150,000.for principal item is worth 50,000.00.They are getting richer every month new sets of jewelries,latest cars can be seen in them taken from the teachers salary even from the profit they gain from that selling of items,and series of seminars being conducted illegally.even without memorandum they are conducting seminars with maximum registration fee because they are always after of the profit they will get from it…please help the people in Lanao through press.They will not overcome this alone.small people are never heard because they are nobody in the society.press can best help improve Lanao through real education.thanks
Oh you Pangandamans, along with those members of the political elite who play God with your goon-supported and corruption funded power. You are not only setting back progress among your constituents with you corruption, you are behaving like French nobility who play God…
…just before the Bastille was stormed.
Mr. Carlos Conde,
I am not a blogger. My question is, do all bloggers write truthfully and accurately? How can we tell?
Mr. Conde, do check on this update[1] from the people who monitor this firsthand. Let us not be swayed too easily by blog entries because often times, things are not what they seem.
[1] http://tinyurl.com/84lnqu
@Vicki Says:
I am not a blogger. My question is, do all bloggers write truthfully and accurately? How can we tell?
==
as far as i’m concerned, miss vicki, blogging can never truly replace journalism. so if we use the same standards in journalism on blogging (such as truthfulness and accuracy), a problem crops up. at best, blogging can be used for advocacy, much like opinion writing. whether truthful or not is another matter. the beauty, however, of blogging is that there’s a multitude of bloggers out there who can correct you if you’re wrong or criticize you if you are less than truthful.
again, we should never fall into the trap of comparing blogging to journalism because the two are just not the same.
Jon,
What proof do you need. A 56 year old father(was thin and not really fighter form), a 14 year old boy(also thin) and a 18 year old petite Bambee. VERSUS Big Mayor, Hussein, bodyguard carrying guns(2 or 3)….
bloodied ear and limping old man as reported by security of Valley Club..
What else do you need?
i finished reading bambee’s blog. terrible terrible incident. it must have been so awful to see her family members beaten up in front of her. i can just imagine if it were me. omg, the thought is unbearable.
i would like to ask though, i heard from someone, please correct me if i’m wrong, i heard that before the confrontation, on one particular hole on the golf course, is it true that the Pangandaman siblings were still on the green and weren’t done playing it and Bambee’s father decided to hit his ball towards that green with the possibility of hitting any of them (and without shouting ‘fore’)?
i am a golfer and i have been playing for a very long time. i know for a fact that his action, if he really did hit his ball towards them, was very intentional. it was not accidental. if he really did that, it was very very rude of him to do so. i would be very furious too if i were on that green. bastos na bastos yon. he could have done it the proper way, and that was to call the attention of the marshall, or, he could have spoken to them, told them that they had a right to play first, and i am sure if they asked politely, maybe the group will let them through. if not, well, at least there will be no fight, no bloody incident.
if you were on the green and someone intentionally hits a ball towards you and possibly hitting you or killing you, how would you react? binastos ka ng todo. what if his ball did hit you on the head, or your son’s head? what if he falls down, and is suddenly unconscious?
what i am trying to say lang is that, the Pangandaman siblings were already furious at Mr. de la Paz for what he did. I would expect a confrontation among them. i just would not expect the fight to be that bloody.
so who really started it? a hard question to answer.
i am not choosing sides. to me, i think both parties committed a mistake. i feel bad that it developed into something really horrific.
again, if my info is wrong about mr. de la paz’s action to hit his ball towards the green where people were still there, then i apologize. it was not mentioned in her blog, so i dont know if her father is guilty of that stunt.
Danny,
I would just like to point out that the 56 year old man is not a small and thin man. The 14 year old boy is 5’6” and 140lbs. That doesn’t seem little. And the 18 year old Bambee is not petite. She is also 5’6”. All this information is available on different sites and there are even pictures of them. It is accessible to anyone.
hello again… i will play the devil’s advocate a little, hear me out…
you and your brother are rushing because you have a tee off time. you are already late. your family has teed off because naka schedule sila to tee off and there are other members waiting for their turn to tee off. you probably even call them with your cel to say, just go ahead, we will follow.
then, you arrive, rush to get your golf bags to the golf car, you rush to be with your family on the fairways. you overtake some golfers in the process. but you are more concerned with meeting up with family. it is the holidays.
(you are unaware that the people behind you are furious that you played through).
and so you proceed playing golf, laughing probably, having fun with family.
and then all of a sudden, when on the green, someone decides to hit a ball towards you without warning. you are startled. you get mad. that ball might have hit any of you there. (it really raises a golfer’s blood pressure when someone intentionally hits a ball towards him).
you eventually meet with the man behind, and instead of an apology from him for that childish and disrespectful stunt that he did, he does the opposite. of course you will respond by being hysterical as well. the terrible confrontation starts. (sa totoo lang, if i were on that green, i would tell my husband to go to that man and kick his ass off. bastos eh). then it got very bad. beating starts. bloody.
then the family returns to the clubhouse. sees dad. tells dad, dad, there was this man who hit a ball towards us. ang bastos niya. akala mo kung sino. pwede nilang tinamaan si 8 yr old child. i am sure the dad is shocked and angry too. who wouldn’t be? the anger among the siblings is still there.
and then they see the man again at the clubhouse. more fighting.
to me, i think the siblings were just too irked about behind shot at. if the man who played behind them did not intentionally hit his ball towards that group, if would not have been bloody.
if i had a son playing with me who was in danger of getting hit by a golf ball–and the man who is responsible did it intentionally… i would probably ask my flightmates to fight back. punch him in the face if they have to. i am just being protective over my son.
a similar incident happened to our golf course. a member intentionally hit his ball towards the green where the slow players were still putting. that member who intentionally hit his ball at other members was suspended.
Helo Carlos Conde…pls help us in Lanao thru ur blog and write up.Wat im writing here is really true,I swear to ALLAH.Our mayor Hon.Nasser Pangandaman,Jr. never reports in the office.He never,ever stayedeven 32 hours.u know why? becoz he is still a student and his close relatives are the one managing the municipality.This is really a great corruption.Most of the Pangandaman when they are in power are corrupt.They only won this mayoralty seat because they bought votes.We are just little voice and nobody in the society.Am sure this will not be heard and entertain but this is really the truth and nothing but the truth.
[...] a sense that’s probably why journalist Caloy Conde commented that blogging and journalism are just not the same, in response to a question on whether bloggers write truthfully and [...]
Blogging can simply make or break a person… sometimes, I think before posting a controversial post coz I might offend some people… and there might be “RULES” in blogging that I don’t know yet coz I am new to blogging… but sometimes, I am just so tempted to ruin this one person’s life!!! coz I know I have the power too!!! but then again… i think responsibly… that you could not take back what you say online sometimes… but with Bambee I applaud her for being Brave and using this tool for a cause…
three commenters,but one voice. hmm.. arimao meno, sittie hedjara and mimbantas jr. seems like you’re sour graping? when you were the mayor of your town, were you able to put up a municipal hall? i don’t think so. in fact, i know you did nothing during your term … but honestly, i dont think the people who own these names even know that they left comments here. maybe i should ask them when i see them. hahaha!
[...] or fourth hand information coming from the media, forums and blogs. That’s why we are called bloggers and not journalists precisely because we only blog about our personal experiences, views and opinions, details that we [...]
Have u read bout the results of the investigation?it was the dela paz’s who acted arrogantly. Wag naman kayong react nang react agad without hearing the other side. Yan xactly prob nating mga pinoy. madaling magreact at maniwala sa mga drama. Kawawa ang hnd magsasalta sa media sa inu.Tsk tsk tsk. B fair naman and wise people
Just the Facts on Valley Incident
“(T)he tales told by both camps are miles apart. Thus, how can one know the truth the except when there are other witnesses to corroborate their stories?”
by Ducky Paredes
The Philippine Blogosphere (a coined word that has come to mean the prevailing opinion on a particular issue as reflected by bloggers on the internet) has been agog over an incident in Valley Golf and Country Club in which one participant reported that her kid brother and her 56-year old father were beaten senseless by a cabinet secretary’s son – a small town mayor in Lanao – over nothing. In fact, according to her blog, this senseless incident had her and her brother pleading for mercy while these thugs beat them to a virtual pulp.
Upon reading this, since Malaya had no issues during the Christmas-New Year break, I wrote a short piece on a golfer’s reflections on the incident in my blog (www.duckyparedes.com/blogs) based on what I had heard as a member of Valley.
Now, from testimony of witnesses to the incident – caddies of both parties, the marshal, the starter and other club personnel – to the investigators, I am clearer on what happened.
What I narrate ignores the testimonies of the so-called victims (Delfin, Bambi and Dino De la Paz) or the alleged ruffians (Secretary Nasser Pagandaman of DAR and Mayor Nasser Pangandaman, Jr. and four other male companions) where these have no corroborating witnesses.
Here are the facts:
On December 26, at or around 1:00 p.m., there were two flights from the Pangandamans followed by one of the De la Paz family. Since there were two late players in the Pangandaman flights, they teed off with three players on each flight. Following them was a flight of two players – Bambee and Dino – with the father walking with them.
On reaching the green of Hole No. 3, Delfin was surprised to see two golf carts with two players getting off at Hole No. 4. (The other golf cart carried their caddies and was driven by a grounds marshal.)
Delfin accosted them. Mayor Nasser, Jr. explained that they were part of the group ahead and were only joining them a bit late. When Delfin told him that they would be five players in their flight, the Mayor explained that there would only by four of them, since one of the players in their second flight would move up to the first flight to accommodate the two new players.
Thus, they teed off.
On Hole No. 5, a De la Paz caddy was sent to ask why there were five golfers in their flight. Nasser Jr. explained that there were only four and that, besides, they would let the De la Paz flight move ahead of their flight on the next hole. The caddy says that he relayed this to Delfin.
Between Hole No. 5 and 6 is a tee house where one can take refreshments. There Nasser, Jr,’s flight caught up with Secretary Nasser’s flight. The mayor asked his father to let the next flight through since they seemed in a hurry and, besides, he said that they were long-hitters and good players. They agreed on this.
When the De la Paz flight was coming in from Hole No. 5, they were waved through by the players and the caddies to the next hole beyond the tee house. The mayor decided to personally inform Delfin. He started to say that they were allowing the De la Paz flight to move ahead of both Pangandaman flights but was met by an expletive: “P—– I—M-. Sabi mo apat kayo; bakit lima kayo?”
When the mayor explained that they were only four in his flight, Delfin was further incensed: Don’t you know who I am? Are you a member here? While repeatedly stabbing Nasser, Jr. with his umbrella.
At that point, Hussein, the younger brother, joined in by punching Delfin. Bino to the rescue! He swung his driver at the mayor who parried the blow but injured his hand. Both brothers then repeatedly punched De La Paz father and son, who also fought back.
The rest of the Pangandaman group – except for the secretary and the woman companion of the mayor – tried to stop the fight and eventually succeeded.
The De la Paz group went back to the clubhouse and the Pangandamans stayed behind. No more golf for either for the rest of the day. Hussein had blood on his face from punches he received from Bino and a scratch (courtesy of Bambee).
Did Delfin need help walking? Had he been beaten to a pulp? No. In fact, he was on his cellphone, spiritedly calling for what seemed like reinforcements.
(On returning to the clubhouse, while the rest of the Pangandamans were taking dirt off their shoes, Hussein went to wash up. Unfortunately, he and Bino met up again. According to Bino, he knelt in front of Hussein to beg that he stop hurting him. According to Hussein, Bino raised his hand. He thought the boy would hit him again; so, he gave him a punch. There were no witnesses to this. I included this only to show that the tales told by both camps are miles apart. Thus, how can one know the truth the except when there are other witnesses to corroborate their stories? )
I have recently read the version of one of the Pangandaman’s flightmates who also played golf with them on that very day. I strongly suggest that you read different angles of the story before you side with any party.
My uncle also happens to be playing at Valley golf at the time and saw the incident. He confirmed that Mr. dela Paz poked pangandaman with an umbrella at the clubhouse that started the fighting. Many witnesses at the clubhouse (not just the caddies) also confirmed that the elder brother arrived wielding a baseball bat and the mother with a knife, prompting the mayor’s bodyguards to take out an M-16 rifle in defense. Moreover, there were witnesses to the dela pazes hitting their golf balls to where the pangandaman’s were and not shouting “fore,” despite the respectful manner that the latter told the former to play ahead of their group.
After carefully reading the two blogs and hearing the testimony of my uncle and his friends, at this point I am inclined to believe that it’s the pangandamans who were the victims of injustice and slander, when the dela pazes immediately turned to the media to state their plea. What surprises me know is how Bambee dela Paz was able to fabricate so much garbage that very same night in her blog, but I guess kids nowadays have quite an imagination.
I thought Valley Golf made a fair decision in banning the Dela Pazes for life in that course. Members in that club are actually saying “nakahanap din ng katapat ang mga Dela Paz” na yan, because they are reputed to be very arrogant way before that incident last year. F.Y.I., Sec. Nasser was only suspended, but his two sons were banned from that club for life as well, just for being in the fight.
I think you have to check this out!!! I challenge the media to conduct a depth investigation in this case!!!
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