MANILA, Philippines—After Valley Golf and Country Club member Delfin de la Paz was suspended by the board for the mauling incident involving him and his two children and the Pangandaman family of Lanao Del Norte, I thought that an explanation from my former classmate at St. Joseph’s College was in order.

My classmate, whose daughter is a Jungolfer based in the United States, had frantically called me a few hours after the incident for what she called “authentic documentation” by a member of the media.

She said she wanted me to get the facts before they get muddled through acts of intimidation and possibly, bribery.

She claimed her daughter saw the incident and told her about it.

I had a small item in this column two days after that call. However, although I got a copy of the blog from De la Paz’s 18-year-old daughter, who gave a blow-by-blow account of the mauling incident, I never got to write in-depth or lengthily about the case since the other newspaper sections had already picked up the story in a big way.

But with the recent developments—the De la Paz family is now appearing to be the villain instead of the victim—I had to get back to my classmate for some enlightenment, more than anything.

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My classmate was horrified by my insinuation that De la Paz might be at fault. But why would he be suspended by the Valley Golf board, which I presume to be a level-headed, respectable group?

Had I, too, been brainwashed by the false accounts I’ve been hearing and reading, she wanted to know.

“They’ve twisted everything around. Nabaligtad na lahat. It’s unbelievable! Except for a 10-year-old boy who bore witness to De la Paz’s testimony, everyone is now scared to step forward and speak the truth,” she lashed.

“The Valley Golf board based its decision to suspend on the testimony of a caddie who said that it was De la Paz who started it all.”

While the 56-year-old De la Paz is pursuing his criminal charges in court against the Pangandamans, my classmate said De la Paz has avoided the fairways since the incident.

“As of now, they are unable to play the game of golf. The whole family has been so traumatized by the incident, most especially the 14-year-old Bino, whose ear was practically ripped off by a strong blow delivered by one of the bodyguards,” she said.

“Bino was on his knees begging them to stop beating his father,” added my classmate.

“My heart goes out to them. Now they’re even on the defensive. They’re not haughty and arrogant as pictured. I know because I’ve known them personally for years.”