MANILA, Philippines ? (UPDATE) In a new twist to the controversy over the December 26 Brawl at an Antipolo golf course, the sons of Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman turned the tables on their accusers by charging businessman Delfin Dela Paz and his 14-year-old son with child abuse.

Nasser Jr. and Hussein Pangandaman accused the Dela Pazes of violating the child abuse law when they allegedly threatened Hussein's eight-year-old son Angelo before the altercation at the Valley Golf and Country Club.

The child abuse complaint was on top of the charges of physical injuries, grave and light threats, and coercion they filed against the Dela Paz family, who filed their own complaint the same day, Monday, in the Antipolo Prosecutor's Office.

The two camps filed their complaint-affidavits within an hour of each other but did not get to meet.

"They keep harping on the boy [Bino] being 14 years old. Well, here we have someone who is only eight," said Teodoro Pastrana, lawyer of the Pangandamans.

In the 14-page joint affidavit, Hussein said: "I, Hussein, being the father of Angelo, [am] also filing on his behalf criminal charges for violation of the child abuse law against all the aforementioned respondents who conspire to commit grave coercion and light threats against my 8-year-old son."

The Pangandaman brothers recounted that after their initial argument with the Dela Pazes about "overtaking" on the golf course, the Dela Paz flight allegedly kept hitting shots into the green without shouting "fore," barely missing Hussein, who just shrugged it off.

"My caddy, as precautionary measure, took Angelo behind one of the golf carts to shield him from the Dela Paz shots," Nasser Jr. said in the complaint.

Based on the brothers' account, the incident occurred when the Dela Pazes thought that Nasser Jr., the mayor of Masiu, Lanao del Sur, and another member of his flight, who arrived late, had overtaken them.

Nasser Jr. said he explained to Dela Paz that his group had pre-registered and was not overtaking them, an explanation which, Nasser Jr. thought satisfied Dela Paz, who told him "kortesiya lang [just have courtesy]."

But Nasser Jr. said Dela Paz "deeply resented" the overtaking and his flight and, while the Pangandaman group was still in the fairway, started hitting shots into the green without shouting "fore."

Later, Nasser Jr. said Dela Paz confronted them again, shouting expletives: "Sino ka ba? Member ka ba dito? Hindi mo ba ako kilala? [Who are you? Are you a member here? Don't you know who I am?]"

"Mr. Dela Paz, oblivious of my explanations and with single-minded intent, closed the golf umbrella he was carrying and suddenly thrust it at me. I instinctively parried his thrust with my elbow; in the process I spilled my Coke. Almost instantaneously, I punched him in self-defense," Nasser Jr. said.

He said Bino and Bambee, Dela Paz' 18-year-old daughter, then "rushed in to help their father's assault."

The brothers said the commotion attracted the attention of the club personnel and other golfers and the fight was broken up.

"The rest of the Dela Paz family had by then arrived at the club house in full force, with his older son Bruce menacingly armed with a baseball bat and a burly male companion wearing a red jersey. Even Mrs. Dela Paz rushed to the golf course, carrying a long bladed weapon," they said.

The Pangandaman brothers added that Bruce, the companion and Dela Paz's wife were blocked by the security guards from entering the club house.

"With the real threat of physical harm waiting for us outside the clubhouse lobby, all of us in the group could not leave" through the main gate and used the parking exit, instead, they added.

They filed a physical injuries charge against Dela Paz, Bino and Bambee, grave and light threats against Dela Paz, grave coercion and light threats against the three and Bruce, Maridel, and "John Doe," their unidentified companion.

The Pangandamans attached to their complaint the affidavits of three caddies who accompanied them on their flight: Renato Legaspi, Ferdy dela Torre and Santos Estrera.

In their joint affidavit, the caddies supported the story of the Pangandaman brothers, saying it was Dela Paz who started the fight and had been the aggressor throughout.

In an interview after they filed the case, Pastrana told reporters that there was no reason for the agrarian reform secretary to resign, go on leave or be suspended because the Pangandamans were the aggrieved party in the brawl.

Asked if the Pangandamans were open to an amicable settlement, he said they had not discussed it, but added: "As a lawyer, I will not prevent my clients from entering into a settlement."