Manila - A member of Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's cabinet was in hot water on Monday after a businessman accused him and his two sons of beating him and his teenage son in a brawl at a golf course.

Arroyo ordered the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate the accusations of businessman Delfin Dela Paz against Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman.

Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said Arroyo also directed the DOJ to file appropriate charges "against those responsible for any violation of law."

"The families of Pangandaman and Dela Paza will equally have their day in court based on the facts and the law," he said.

Dela Paz alleged that Pangandaman, his two sons - Nasser Junior, a town mayor in the southern province of Lanao del Sur, and Hussein - and their bodyguards attacked him and his 14-year-old son Bino at a golf course in Antipolo City, just east of Manila, on December 26.

In a complaint filed with local police, Dela Paz said that the cabinet secretary also threatened him and his son, while Pangandaman's bodyguards drew their guns at them.

Pangandaman denied his camp had started the brawl, but apologized on Monday for the incident which he said was caused by a "misunderstanding."

"As a government official, I am apologizing for the incident," he said. "No one wanted this to happen."

Dela Paz, who was also accompanied by his 18-year-old daughter, said the incident erupted when the Pangandamans overtook them at one of the holes at the golf course, triggering a confrontation that resulted in the brawl.

Pangandaman, who was recently appointed by Arroyo as a member of the government's peace negotiating panel with Muslim separatist rebels, said it was Dela Paz who started the fight when he cursed at his son and challenged them to a fight. (dpa)