Title: Give Up Tomorrow
English Title:
- Give Up Tomorrow
- Innocent On Death Row
- Innocent! Paco & the Struggle for Justice
Language:
- Cebuano (Philippine dialect)
- English
- Filipino
- Spanish
Cast:
- Francisco Juan Larrañaga (Paco Larrañaga)
- Mimi Larrañaga
- Manuel Larrañaga
- Margarita Larrañaga (Margot Larrañaga)
- Imanol Larrañaga
- Jamie
- Maisha
- Tatat
- Suzzane Salva
- Leo Lastimosa
- Napoleon Estilles
- Florence Villarin
- Pablo Labra
- Teresita Galanida
- Mike Armovit
- Ramon Teleron
- Solita Monsod
- Raquel Fortun
- Sandy Coronel
- Sarah de Mas
- Lucia Gomez
- Miguel Angel Moratinos
SYNOPSIS
When a teenager from a political family in the Philippines is accused of a double murder, the country's entire judicial system is put to the test after years of alleged corruption.
REVIEW
Give Up Tomorrow is a documentary about Francisco Juan Larrañaga, also known as Paco Larrañaga. He was stripped of his basic human rights as he was being tried for the double murder of two sisters. Whether he is guilty of the crimes or not, he should have been given due process.
There are a lot of questions in my mind while I was watching the film. Why is Paco arrested without an arrest warrant by policemen with expired work identification documents? Why is the judge sleeping while the court was in session? While speaking to reporters after he has given the verdict of two consecutive terms of life imprisonment to the accused, why did the judge say that he is not certain that the picture he accepted as evidence is a picture of one of the victims?
It is honestly terrifying that the systems that are supposed to be fair are not, and the people who are supposed to be objective are not. I mean, if you can't rely on the systems and people in the said systems, who can people actually count on?
Solita Monsod: It is a shame for the Philippines. It is a shame for, for law enforcement. It is a shame for the justice system. And nobody cares.
It's quite distressing that Paco is from an influential and wealthy family in the Philippines, and this incident happened to him. I mean, if he can be denied of his constitutional rights, then it could certainly happen to anyone, especially to people who have no money and no connections.
I know that evidences can be manipulated, witnesses can be bought, and memories can be faulty. However, despite the many frailties of human beings and the many limitations of any justice system, I always believed that justice will prevail. It seems that it didn't in this case, and probably in many other instances, and I'm definitely shaken to the core.
The film's title is from Paco's statement that he deals with his situation by telling himself that if he wants to give up, then he should give up tomorrow.
Francisco Juan Larrañaga, also known as Paco Larrañaga: If you want to give up, give up tomorrow. When tomorrow comes, then I'll give up tomorrow. When tomorrow comes, then I'll give up tomorrow.
Give Up Tomorrow reminded me to always be wary of the media. It is important to remember that the media may have vested interests, such as trying to get a larger percentage of the audience to tune in and watch. Although some of the media may be well-meaning, they will still present news through their own interpretations so it is possible that we may still not get the whole picture.
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Give Up Tomorrow
Give Up Tomorrow
