Criminal charges filed vs DAR chief's two sons, bodyguards

(Updated 9:40 a.m.) MANILA, Philippines – The camp of Delfin de la Paz on Monday officially filed criminal charges against the sons of Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman and their bodyguards who allegedly beat up dela Paz and his son in an exclusive golf course in Antipolo City. Radio dzBB's Sam Nielsen said dela Paz's lawyer Raymond Fortun filed two counts of slight physical injuries and two counts of violation of Republic Act 7610 or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act against Nasser Jr, mayor of Masiu town in Lanao del Sur; and his brother Hussein. The Pangandaman brothers' bodyguards, meanwhile, were charged with one count of slight physical injury. The criminal complaints were filed before the Antipolo City prosecutor's office. In an interview over radio dzBB, Fortun said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) must continue its investigation into the case despite the formal charges filed against the DAR chief's sons as there are other people involved that dela Paz's camp has still not identified. "Nakausap ko po (ang) NBI, sinabi ko po sa kanila tuluy-tuloy lang (ang) imbestigasyon nila dahil merong tao hong hindi namin nakikilala na involved sa imbestigasyon na 'to (I talked to the NBI, I told them to go on with their investigation because there are people involved here whom we have not identified)," Fortun said. Fortun said they have not included the DAR chief in their charges but may add him if there is sufficient evidence against the Cabinet secretary. He added that they are hoping to win the case despite the involvement of a ranking government official. De la Paz had earlier said Nasser Jr and Secretary Pangandaman's bodyguards mauled him and his 14-year-old son Bino after a scuffle inside the Valley Golf and Country Club last Dec. 26, 2008. The DAR chief has repeatedly apologized for the incident, but maintained his innocence. The dela Paz family, however, rejected the apology. A separate radio report said the Pangandaman camp will file charges against the dela Paz camp at 10 a.m. Monday. Fortun, however, expressed confidence that the counter-complaint will be dismissed. "Natural lang na may kontra na demanda at umaasa ako na pagdating sa investigations na gagawin ng prosecutors at lilitaw talaga ang mga aggressors...I'm confident that whatever they file will be dismissed(It's only natural that they file a counter-complaint, and I am hoping that the aggressors will surface during the investigations of the prosecutors)," Fortun said in a separate radio interview. He added that they will also be filing administrative charges against "certain parties" but refused to elaborate. "We'll also be filing administrative charges against certain parties. Para di gagamitin ang kanilang mga poder para ma-derail po ang investigation (So they will not be using their influence to derail the investigation)," said Fortun. - GMANews.TV