Give Up Tomorrow

For my Citizenship and Governance class last term, we were told to go to a movie screening hosted by DLSU's College of Law entitled “Give Up Tomorrow” for some few extra points. I couldn't give up the opportunity to earn a little more credit and also to watch a documentary. When this was announced, my friend Miguel was so excited that he couldn't contain himself. (coming from a guy who isn't really that enthusiastic haha!) So he showed us the trailer of the documentary that we were going to watch.

The documentary is based on a real 1997 trial case that happened in Cebu about Spanish-Filipino born teenager then hailed from a political family named Paco Larrañaga who was accused of double murder for the death of the Chiong sisters along with six other suspects. It was so big that it was even named as "The Trial of the Century". A heated battle against the suspects and the victim's family up until the Spanish King asking former President Gloria Arroyo to transfer Paco to a Spanish jail. The film shows what he went through with the trial, how his family and the victim's family reacted and also how the Philippine government responded.

The producer, Marty Syjuco and also a relative of Paco, made the film to share what his family is going through as of the moment. In the website (www.pacodocu.com) the film is described as,

“GIVE UP TOMORROW exposes a Kafkaesque extravaganza populated by flamboyantly corrupt public officials, cops on the take, and a frenzied legal and media circus. It is also an intimate family drama focused on the near mythic struggle of two angry and sorrowful mothers who have dedicated more than a decade to executing or saving one young man, Paco Larrañaga.”

The film has gained so much awards from the international community and the crew is still showing it around the world to raise awareness on the unjust Philippine judiciary system.

I'll be writing about my own opinion on the movie after this post. I highly recommend this movie especially to students because it's not just some boring documentary about the Philippine government again. Seriously! I ended up crying and the whole auditorium clapped their hands when the film ended because it's that good and heartfelt. Watch it!!!!!

The Effect of the Sin Tax Bill on the Filipino People

I just wanted to share an essay I wrote for my English class this term and also to start off one of the many political essays that I will be posting in my blog from now on. Hope it doesn't bored you guys that much! :-(

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            One of the main problems that our country faces today is the number of diseases and also the expenses for our medical needs. A person walking down the street will usually see a person or two smoking a cigarette while chit chatting with a friend of to just simply calm themselves down from the stress they get from work. It may not seem a lot but these smokes actually contribute to the air pollution especially here in Metro Manila. There have also been a lot of police reports on violence that points to alcohol intake as the main cause. The Sin Tax Bill aims to  raise the taxes implemented on cigarettes and alcohol to discourage smokers and alcoholics from engaging in those vices and also to raise awareness among the Filipino people about their health. But with the implementation of this bill, a lot of poor tobacco farmers and workers from the distilleries will be losing their main source of income. In my opinion, the Sin Tax Bill will surely benefit the Filipino people because it will lessen their spending on vices and also make them aware of the dangers that it brings to their health.

            With the added taxes on the cigarettes and alcohol, the smokers and alcoholics will now get discouraged when buying these “luxuries”. People will not be able to afford it and therefore they will ont for other alternatives or  simply stop.  With the decrease of the demand and usage of cigarrettes and alcohol, there will also be a decrease in the health related issues and fatalities that are  annually being reported. It already is a struggle for the lower class Filipino to afford a box of cigarettes that costs P40 and even also a bottle of cheap local beer that costs around P25. With the implementation of the Sin Tax Bill, an added amount to these would make the  people think twice before buying those or they could just simply spend it on something much more of their money's worth.

            The tax that is being collected from the Sin Tax Bill will now be used in different government agencies for implementing their projects for public use. To make sure the revenues will be properly used by the government, an earmarking system has been passed by Senator Recto to the Senate where the revenues collected will be divided and will be properly distributed among the government's different sectors for the proper implementation and better quality of their projects (Tan, 2012). With its successful implementation in the future, the Philippines will now be able to achieve one of its Millenium Development Goals (MDG) in 2015 for improving our health care by reducing the tobacco use which can also lead to the eradication of extreme poverty. (Ordinario, 2012).