MANILA, Philippines?On New Year?s Eve, the family of businessman Delfin Dela Paz invited close friends over for a small dinner party. One topic of conversation was forbidden.

?We just decided that for this one night, we won?t even think about what happened,? Dela Paz?s 18-year-old daughter Bambee said, referring to the tee house brawl at the Valley Golf and Country Club that thrust them into the public eye.

For days, the incident had been almost the only subject discussed in the Dela Paz household. ?Something this big, it was all we talked about,? she told the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Friday.

Dela Paz and his son Bino, a top junior golfer and an Ateneo de Manila high school freshman, had accused two sons of Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman and their companions of beating them after an argument about golf courtesy.

Bambee said becoming headline news had been hard on the family, as they felt strained and drained by all the attention.

?So on New Year, we just stayed home with a few close friends,? she said. ?We made it a point not to talk about Valley Golf.?

?We feel stronger?

The incident could lead to a long legal battle.

?As of right now, we?re a bit stronger because of all the support we?re getting. There?s still a feeling of pressure and fear because of who we?re up against, but right now, we feel stronger,? said Bambee, who has been assigned as family spokesperson.

A golf scholar at the University of Cincinnati, Bambee said her friends from school, who learned about what happened from blogs and news on the Internet, were all ?horrified.? Through e-mail and long distance calls, they told her they were praying for her.

More than 1,000 bloggers have expressed support for their family in the comments section of her online journal. Bambee said her parents ?were just overwhelmed.?

Many others have offered encouragement, including a group from the University of the Philippines College of Law, she said.

Bino can?t forget

Interviewed on ABS-CBN?s ?Umagang Kay Ganda,? Dela Paz said a family lawyer had advised them to be well prepared, with all their documents ready, especially in a ?high-profile? case like theirs.

The Dela Pazes have filed a complaint for physical injuries and the Pangandamans have threatened a countersuit.

Bino, in the TV interview, said he could not forget the sight of Pangandaman?s companions allegedly pulling out their guns when he (Bino) was already in the clinic to be treated for his wounds.

Bambee, who is flying back to the US on Jan. 7 to resume her studies, said her father and her brother had not played golf since the incident. ?I don?t know how I?ll feel when I go back to the golf course,? she said.

No outside influence

Bambee appealed to authorities to ?find it in their hearts? to conduct an impartial investigation and not to be swayed by outside influence.

She said the possibility of her family withdrawing their complaint was unlikely ?as of right now.?

?All the support we?re getting, it?s giving us strength to keep fighting ... They say prayer makes you strong and we believe it does. Now we leave everything to God,? she said.

Online petitions for the resignation of Pangandaman have picked up in cyberspace.

Ang Kapatiran

The Ang Kapatiran Party has launched its own online petition asking for the resignation not only of Pangandaman but also of his son Nasser Jr., mayor of Masiu, Lanao del Sur.

Earlier, farmers from Hacienda Yulo in Laguna also called for the elder Pangandaman?s resignation.

Ang Kapatiran?s petition already has 84 signatories. The farmers have 69.

Ang Kapatiran is the same group that fielded candidates in the last elections on an ?anti-trapo? (anti-traditional politicians) platform.

The group called on the Arroyo administration ?to insure the speedy resolution of this criminal/administrative case and that these public officials be preventively suspended.? With a report from Alcuin Papa