MANILA, Philippines?The Antipolo police Monday expressed frustration at what they said was the reluctance of the management and staff of the Valley Golf and Country Club to shed light on the tee house brawl between the families of Agrarian Secretary Nasser Pangandaman and businessman Delfin dela Paz.

?Nobody wants to talk. We sent investigators there to talk to eyewitnesses [on Sunday], but nobody wanted to talk to the police. Of course, we couldn?t force them,? the Antipolo police chief, Supt. Raul Bargamento, said.

He said he expected each camp to bring its own witnesses once the charges and countercharges had been filed with the city prosecutor?s office.

?It would be better if we had neutral witnesses, but each camp has its own witnesses. They talk freely to the other parties but not to us. I can?t understand it,? Bargamento said.

The police are investigating the allegation of Dela Paz and his teenaged son Bino that they were beaten by Nasser Jr and five companions last Friday.

As of Monday noon, the Dela Paz?s complaint for physical injuries in relation to Republic Act 7610, or the child abuse act, has not been filed with Prosecutor?s Office since no prosecutor has reported for work, Bargamento said.

Bodyguards from Puno

In a statement e-mailed to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the elder Dela Paz reacted to Secretary Pangandaman?s statement that it was Dela Paz who started the fight.

?As a father, would I go into battle with my 18-year-old daughter and my 14-year-old son against five grown men? Would I, as a father, risk the safety of both my children, and the emotional trauma that this would cause them, as indeed was what had happened?? he said.

?Could my 14-year-old son, my 18-year-old daughter, and myself, a 56-year-old man, beat up a 27-year-old man with 4 or 5 grown men with him?? Dela Paz said.

Dela Paz thanked Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno for providing his family with a security detail.

Like Fort Knox

Trying to get into the Valley Golf Club Monday was, it seemed, like trying to get into Fort Knox, the heavily guarded US gold depository, an Inquirer team found out Monday.

Security guards wearing vests with the words ?FORT KNOX? emblazoned on them barred the entry of an Inquirer reporter and a photographer.

The guards, who requested not to be named, said they were ordered by the club management to prevent reporters from going in. Crews from ABS-CBN and GMA-7 had also been not allowed in, they said.

Contacted by phone, Valley clubhouse affairs manager Bong Vilchez said the decision not to allow media into the facility was only temporary and might be lifted once club officials had made their decision on the Pangandaman-Dela Paz case.

Emergency meeting

An emergency meeting is scheduled Tuesday among members of the Valley Golf board and the committees involved in the investigation.

Valley Golf has temporarily suspended Secretary Pangandaman, his son Nasser Jr. and Dela Paz from the club.

A group of caddies interviewed by the Inquirer outside the club said management had been gathering statements from those who witnessed the fight between the two families.

The final sanctions on those involved will be based on accounts of the parties involved as well as of the witnesses, and will depend on the gravity of the offense, according to a source who requested anonymity for lack of authority to speak on the case.

The sanction ranges from suspension to permanent expulsion, the official added.