Let Our Principles be PRICELESS: Paco Larrañaga is innocent

I have watched lots of documentaries before about the different social issues in my country. Mostly, they are about poverty and other things related to it such as prostitution, lack of education, premarital sex, etc. Those films just usually helped me to realize things about what, why and how they are happening but after that, it always leaves me clueless on what should I do next to contribute any help for the good of my country. But “Give Up Tomorrow” is different. It is not just a documentary portraying injustice but a movement for change, and in particular to change the course of one man's horrible destiny and to continue supporting his family and friends — those who never stopped believing in his innocence for all the past, long fifteen years.

I was too shocked to react after seeing the documentary, which have crushed my faith in the justice system of the Philippines. I was filled with sadness and hopelessness especially when I think of the countless names and faces who are victims of injustice, most especially of the bureaucratic kind. The film makes a steady and reasonable case for the defense. Interviews from Paco's family were as tempered as they could possibly be at one point. I saw how the father's lips were trembling in an attempt to control his emotions; I thought it was the most heartbreaking moment in the film. On the other end, Mrs. Chiong, mother of the murdered victims and her actions ground me. I can't tell for sure if her interviews were taken out of context but I find it difficult to criticize her as I can only imagine the pain of what she had gone through. Her words about their plan of killing Paco really disturbed me as if there’s really something wrong with the whole context.

It’s not the royal incompetence of the justice system that dismayed me but my realization that the media could have turned things around, especially when the case hearings were going downhill. There was an angle about a drug lord connection which any of the journalists could have pursued but didn't. Skipping the preceding step, they could have cited the irregularities in the courtroom which had turned into a circus. They could have simply been fair, accurate and reasonable in their news reports. I thought the Larrañagas were too nice, naive, and sensible not to have tried to win public sympathy through press interviews. It could be better if the media had done their part and approached the family for their story.

CHANGE is never too late

Social injustice is the biggest curse to humanity as a whole. Man has a sociable nature that is the origin and basis of society. It is social justice that brings about social unity, stability and progress. It is social injustice that offends human dignity, undermines public harmony and ascertains social deterioration. There has never been and there will never be a nation on earth that is built, promoted and developed by social injustice. Social discrimination leads to violation of human rights and the waste of human lives all over the land. Due to social injustice, the socio-political instability in the Philippines primarily on account of intense conflict and discontent that promote bitter anti-government rallies.

It is social injustice that is the root cause of all the basic ills of this country but as a Christian nation with families of strong Filipino values, Philippines could surpass this challenge. We can do something to change what has the past generation have committed wrongly, it’s never too late to change, and that change should start from modifying our principles — principle that is priceless and can never be bought by anything.