Lawig Kalinaw - Balay Mindanaw

Well, some folks did, late in the evening ofOctober 17, 2009. Quidet was surprised by theloud voices of drunks passing by the communitybasketball court and the sound of stones hittingthe roof of a building owned by the barangay. Sohe went out to check the commotion, and saw theAbatayo brothers, who he believed were responsiblefor the noise and the stones. He thus advised themto stop, so as not to wake up the sleeping neighborsand to avoid damaging the building the barangayhad built with meager resources.The Abatayo brothers apparently thought thebarangay chairman, who admitted to having hada little drink at a friend’s house while entertainingsome visitors, was hurling insults at them as theydenied causing thenoise and throwing thestones. Before long, acommotion had started.Whoever threw the firstpunch is now for thecourts to settle, but whencooler heads came tountangle the mess, theback of Quidet’s head wasbleeding profusely afterit was smashed with a bigrock, the elder brotherHesus was grimacing inpain after his face was hit with a solid blow, and thesmaller brother Alberto was on the ground wantingto break free as Quidet, on top of him, was throwingpunch after punch to his face and body.Quidet was eventually rushed to the hospitalin neighboring Jasaan town, where his wound wasstitched.Warrior that he was, Quidet was itching for afight the morning after, challenging the Abatayobrothers to one-on-one bouts, right there at thebasketball court in the middle of the village foreveryone to see. “I may have stitches at the backof my head, but I was sure they couldn’t hit it, andI really wanted to find out who’s man enough,”recalled Quidet. But the Abatayo brothers, alreadysensing their earlier mistake of engaging theirvillage leader in a fight of two against one, did notshow up for the fight.Reason prevailed, and the barangay chairman“I was torn betweenteaching them a lesson andforgiving them for assaultingme, knowing that shouldthey go to jail, their familieswould lose their solebreadwinners and starve.”overcame the urge to settle things with his fists.Upon suggestions from his family and some friends,he instead filed a court case against the Abatayobrothers. “I was torn between teaching them a lessonand forgiving them for assaulting me, knowing thatshould they go to jail, their families would lose theirsole breadwinners and starve.”The Abatayo brothers have since apologizedfor their behavior and asked forgiveness. Peoplearound Quidet advised him to pursue his court caseto set an example. He also wanted the incident to bedocumented in court. Quidet eventually accepted theapology and forgave his attackers, even withdrawingthe case from court. He, however, demanded that theAbatayos refund him for the cost of hospitalization.The Abatayoslive farther down theroad from the Quidethousehold, and so it isunavoidable that theypass by the barangaychairman’s house everymorning when theygo to work, and everyafternoon on their wayback home. Thus theyget to meet almost everyday, and have been civiltoward each other.El Capitan did good by holding his punches.But he didn’t just hold his punches. He did more– accepted apology, forgave his attackers, evenwithdrew the case – and continued to do good tomend the relationship, accepting them as part of thecommunity. The Abatayo brothers, meanwhile, wererepentful and promised not to do it again. All thesesum up what many communities have found to be abetter way of settling disputes and keeping the peace– restorative justice.A healing balm for their relationship came inthe form of a mass wedding which Quidet hadcoordinated for his village. Alberto, who had beenliving in with his partner without the church’sblessings, approached Quidet.“I asked the barangay chairman for help, andI’m glad that he was too willing to assist me preparethe documents and other requirements,” Albertosaid.Mga Sugilanon sa Pagpanday og Kalinaw sa Katilingban29