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Did the Director and Producer of "Give Up Tomorrow" Manage to Interview the Late Federico "Toto" Natividad Jr.?


I guess the fascination with the broken justice system can never end, right? After watching Give Up Tomorrow, my entire world was shattered. I never realized that, all along, the act done by the 35 (or more) witnesses for Juan Francisco G. Larrañaga aka Paco. Paco was in Quezon City in Manila during the night of the crime. Manila was 300 kilometers away from Cebu City, where the crime happened. One of my memories in high school was that a film based on the Chiong Sisters was being produced. The film was originally named Butakal meaning "male pig". Later, the film was renamed Animal in 2004--the same year Paco was wrongfully on death row. There was a sense of urgency in making the film. Fortunately, Paco and his co-accused were spared. The film presented the case of how eight people were wrongfully tagged. Yes, I believe that Davidson V. Rusia was innocent regarding the crime. The documentary did show that Davidson was tortured repeatedly. 

What we saw was only what was included in the final product. Marty Syjuco and Michael Collins actually had 400 hours' worth of footage and over 100 interviews. They revealed that they never found Davidson. They did use a private detective hoping to find him. Meanwhile, with over 100 interviews, I'm led to believe that the crew did manage to interview not only the late Antonio Alberto Calvento but also Federico Natividad Jr. I guess the only way that Syjuco and Collins were able to secure clips of the Calvento Files episode was if Calvento gave his permission. I wouldn't be surprised if Calvento was in the premiere on 2012 before he died of cancer in 2017. 

Natividad Jr. died of COVID-19 complications two years ago on April 27, 2021. Natividad Jr. became notorious for one reason--the movie Animal. It was loosely based on the Chiong Sisters with selected real-life references such as the Vizconde Massacre, Paco's alleged kidnapping attempt, and Paco's scuffle in a parking lot. However, the film took place in San Roque which is in Samar. The movie was as fictional as it could get. The Tan sisters, Cherry and Sandra, had a younger brother and only three Tan siblings. Jaco Lozano (acted by John Regala) was the only child of his mother and his father was either dead or missing. Junior Sanchez was from a broken home with a negligent father. Also, spoiler alert, because this garbage film isn't worth viewing, is that one of the sisters survived the incident to tell the tale. The other sister's testimony in court led to Jaco and his six co-accused getting sentenced to die by lethal injection. We also have a state witness named Ferdie (based on Davidson Rusia). 

The Chiong couple fought against Natividad. Later, the Supreme Court ordered the MTRCB to return the master copy to Natividad Jr. in 2007. That would be two years before Paco was transferred to Spain. Paco is still in prison in Spain today. However, Paco has been considered the least dangerous prisoner. Paco's now working with prison breaks. Paco can go to work without an escort. However, Paco must admit having been a participant to get a pardon. That's something Paco will never do because he knows (along with others) that he never took part in the crime that happened. Along the way, Syjuco and Collins may have sat down and talked with Natividad Jr. before the film was finished. 

The Chiongs had a legal battle with Natividad Jr. Meanwhile, the Larrañagas weren't known to try and file a case against Natividad Jr. In fact, I believe the Larrañagas had every right to go against the film too. Maybe, it's because the portrayal of Jaco was a far cry from Paco's home. As mentioned earlier, Jaco comes from a single-parent home. Jaco's mother was worried she might lose her only son while spoiling him simultaneously. The Larrañaga couple, Manuel and Margarita, were probably too busy trying to get Paco acquitted of a crime he never committed. Paco wasn't allowed to testify during the trial. As Paco mentioned, he would further defend his innocence if he wasn't handcuffed. I'm amazed that Natividad Jr. never bothered to put the 35 witnesses (or more) attempting to defend Jaco.  Was the movie meant to be a satire of the case or what? If so, Natividad may have made that exploitation movie out of disbelief more than anything else.

I wouldn't be surprised if one of the intended scenes was the Chiong family's fight against Natividad Jr. himself. Syjuco and Collins probably got to talk to Natvidad Jr. about the controversial film before they completed their own film. I wouldn't be surprised if the tandem asked why Natividad Jr. made the film. I wouldn't be surprised if Natividad Jr. even saw the documentary. Maybe, Natividad Jr. attended the Cinemalaya event in 2012 but didn't get noticed. Maybe, Natividad Jr. may have probably said, "The whole narration of Rusia is as exaggerated as my controversial film." Then again, it seems both Syjuco and Collins deemed it irrelevant for the final cut. 
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