Greetings from the Philippines where I'm working at our base in the City of Olongapo. And last week, our housekeeper's granddaughter and I popped out for an absolutely ginormous box of popcorn over a film. When we got to the cinema, we had a choice between the blockbusting John Wick 4 and a far less well-known Filipino film. So Apag it was...
What’s the Plot?
‘Apag’ is an abbreviation of ‘Hapag Kainan’, the Kapambangan (one of the major Filipino languages) term for dining table. Communal dining is a massive part of many Filipino occasions, and the film opens with two unrelated families - one rich and the other poor - going to the same market at the same time to buy food for their respective family feasts.
After scrabbling around the market looking for food they can afford, the poorer father and daughter set off for home in their family's trike - a motorbike with covered sidecar. Then tragedy strikes: the richer son crashes into them in his family's huge pick-up truck.
What happens next? Well, I'm not going to say because I really want you to go and see this amazing film and I don't want to spoil the plot for you! And don't worry if, like me, you are not exactly fluent in Kapambangan: as well as having English sub-titles, the cinematography is as clear as it is beautiful. Shot in the gorgeous region of Pampanga, I was thrilled to see that the jail part of the story appears to have been filmed in the real Pampanga Provincial Jail - a secure environment I've worked in many times before the pandemic.
Raising a case
No, rather than spilling the beans, I'll just explain what happens in general when there's a nasty accident or deliberate wrongdoing in the Philippines. Perhaps surprisingly, decisions about whether or not to prosecute someone are not so much in the hands of the police. No, in the Philippines and many other non-Western countries, a complainant or his/her family must 'raise a case'. Otherwise neither criminal nor civil court proceedings may get underway.
As a European prison doctor who's given evidence many times in my homeland’s criminal courts and less often in its separate civil courts, the Philippines’ mixed criminal and civil system came as a bit of a surprise when I first started working here in 2015. Now though, a few years down the line, I’ve just about got the hang of it - at least, enough to give evidence in a local court case last year. And true enough, when the verdict was announced, the criminal penalty of imprisonment was meted out alongside the civil penalty of the accused being directed to pay compensation to the family of the alleged victim.
And often it really does come down to a question of money. In countries that do not have easy-access benefits systems for those who find themselves in dire straits, the family of a badly injured or deceased breadwinner is often left with no choice other than to 'raise a case' - if they are to get the compensation necessary for their financial survival.
Out for revenge
So, does our film's poorer family get compensation? Are their lives transformed for the better as a result? Does the rich family's son get punished? And how do the various members of the poor family deal with the tragedy? I'll leave you to find out for yourself! (That said, if you do want to read more about the plot, here’s a more detailed review from a regional newspaper.)
But drawing to a close now, there's a saying in British English (as opposed to Taglish - the mixture of Tagalog and English spoken in the Philippines): 'Revenge is a dish best served cold'. And that's certainly the case in Apag.
All the compensation in the world does not soothe a grieving heart. In my career, I've seen so very many men imprisoned for the most atrocious acts of revenge. Yet they aren't made any happier for having taken their pound of flesh. Bitterness takes root on both sides. A vicious cycle of tit-for-tat violence is created. It goes round and round and round and round.
Father forgive them
So what does God think about revenge? He's not a fan. He knows that lack of forgiveness often causes more grief than the original wrong. That's just one of the reasons why Jesus commanded us to forgive:-
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
(Matthew 18:21-22)
And let's not forget that small but golden nugget of the Easter story, when Jesus put his teaching into practice for himself:-
When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals - one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
(Luke 23:33-35)
If Jesus could forgive his torturous executioners, then we can at least try to forgive our transgressors. It isn't a passive, easy choice. No, it is a painful, hard act of the will. But let’s not forget that our Lord Jesus knows just how hard forgiveness can be. And so whenever we're tempted to lash out, we can take our hurt and pain to him - one who can empathise with our weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15) - in prayer:-
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’”
(Luke 11:1-4)
Dr Rachael Pickering is our Chief Medical Officer
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