MANILA, Philippines?The family of businessman Delfin De la Paz Tuesday refused to accept a public apology made by Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman, and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) vowed to get at the truth behind the golf course brawl between the two families.

As the official probe into the incident got under way, others stepped into the fray.

In a phone interview, activist priest Fr. Robert Reyes called for the resignation of Pangandaman and said he would join a march of farmers in Laguna on Wednesday to express his support for the De la Paz family.

The farmers are pressing Pangandaman?s Department of Agrarian Reform to void what they say is an order exempting a big portion of a Laguna hacienda from the agrarian reform law.

Besides the NBI, the management of the Valley Golf and Country Club, where the melee involving the De la Paz and Pangadaman families occurred last Friday, has begun hearing the testimony of witnesses and of those directly involved in the fight.

?We only heard about it on the news. There was no personal apology to us,? De la Paz?s daughter, Marie Dhel ?Bambee? De la Paz, said in a phone interview, when asked for comment on the public apology issued the other day by Pangandaman.

?No, we?re not accepting it. Besides, they never changed their story,? Bambee, acting as the family spokesperson, added.

The elder De la Paz has accused Pangandaman?s sons?Nasser Jr., mayor of Masiu, Lanao del Sur, and Hussein?and four golfing companions of beating him and his 14-year-old son Bino following an argument involving courtesy on a golf course.

The Pangandamans countered it was De la Paz who started the fight. On Monday, Secretary Pangandaman apologized on radio for what happened but later said it was not tantamount to admitting guilt.

Will pursue charges

Asked if the De la Paz family, which has sued the Pangandamans for physical injuries, was open to an out-of-court settlement, Bambee said her family had not talked about it, but added: ?We?ll confer.?

Bambee, 18, a student at University of Cincinatti on a golf scholarship, witnessed the incident.

She said the family still intended to pursue the charges against the Pangandaman sons and their companions.

As of Tuesday, their complaint still has not been filed with the Prosecutor?s Office, there being no prosecutor available because of the holidays, Antipolo?s police chief, Supt. Raul Bargamento, said.

Bargamento said the Pangandamans had not yet filed any counter-complaint, which they previously indicated they would.

Witnesses? testimony vital

NBI Director Nestor Mantaring said his office was bent on finding out the ?real? story.

?That was the explicit directive of the Secretary (Raul Gonzalez), for the NBI to find out what really happened and to file charges if evidence warrants,? Mantaring told the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net).

Mantaring also said: ?Witnesses to the incident will provide a clearer and unbiased look into the brawl.?

Tuesday, De la Paz and Bambee gave their side of the story to the Valley Golf management but the teenaged Bino did not attend the hearing, being still traumatized by what happened, the family said.

?I?m hoping they would conduct an objective investigation,? Bambee said. She said Bino ?couldn?t go because he?s still traumatized.?

Pangandaman says won?t quit

Valley Golf officials pledged a swift and just action on the case.

Pangandaman, in a phone interview, rejected calls for his resignation.

?I am not resigning. I wish to make no more comment on the matter since this will just be bigger. There is already an investigation on the matter,? he said.

Pangandaman refused to comment on the De la Paz family?s cold reception of his public apology.

Pangandaman has said it was his son, Nasser Jr., who was attacked first.

In a text message to the Inquirer, another Pangandaman son, Hussein, also said it was the De la Paz family which started the fight.

Hussein said testimony from witnesses ?will prove that De la Paz clan are liars.?

Priest wants ?justice?

Fr. Reyes told the Inquirer he had contacted the De la Paz family and given them his support.

The so-called ?running priest? said he was joining Wednesday?s farmers march ?to seek justice for the De la Paz family.?

Around 400 farmers of the Hacienda Yulo in Calamba, Laguna, plan to march from the hacienda to the Calamba cathedral some 10 km away.

The farmers are calling for the DAR to void a reported order exempting 3,256 hectares of the hacienda?s 7,100 hectares from coverage of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), said the farmers? spokesperson, Vangie Mendoza.

Golf courses

Mendoza said the exemption order was issued in 1993 to pave the way for the conversion of the land for industrial and commercial purposes, but no development had occurred while the farmers were deprived of their livelihood.

?It seems Secretary Pangandaman seems more interested in turning land into golf courses rather than giving them to the farmers,? Reyes said.

Mendoza also alleged the owners of Hacienda Yulo had signed away 5 hectares of the land supposedly to the First Family for the construction of a 12-hole golf course. No comment was immediately available from the hacienda owners or from the President?s family. With a report from Cedelf P. Tupas