MANILA, Philippines — Actress Cherry Pie Picache said the word forgiveness has taken on a different meaning for her since the death of her mother Zenaida Sison in September 2014.
In 2014, the actress's mom was found dead inside her home in Quezon City. Police arrested the suspect Michael Flores in October of the same year. He has since been imprisoned for robbery and homicide.
Speaking to reporters after the screening of the documentary Radical Love on Thursday, July 4, Cherry Pie said: "Forgiving before was like okay, you forgive... I mean you were taught about it as what as young as 5 years... but now iba na. After this, ngayon nga yung parang...mahirap na akong magalit, yung totoong galit. Now parang you just let things slide after this parang ganyan. Parang okay na iyon." (But now it's different. It's hard to get angry, real angry. Now you just let things slide. It's like it's okay.)
Radical Love narrates the journey of Cherry Pie and her family after the death of Zenaida. Cherry Pie decides to visit Michael at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa in March and the two had a heart-to-heart talk after the painful event.
"I can only feel the gratefulness... Kasi talaga nung una (Because at first), I was really hesitant and scared. I was really scared to open up yung story namin this way and to open up what I was going through this way," said Cherry Pie.
"Ngayon, parang medyo na relieve ako... getting all the reactions from people. Tapos na totouch ako kasi while we were promoting it sa social media, yung Radical Love nga, you know there were already several stories or several people who have been victims of violent crimes na nag send ng message.
(Now I feel relieved [after] getting all the reactions from people. And of course, I was touched because when we were promoting Radical Love on social media, you know, there were several stories or several people who were victims of violent crimes sending us messages.)
"Now you know they're inspired... they will think about it na naapektuhan sila (because they were affected by it). So that alone, is, di ba worth it."
The documentary took two years to produce and encountered a lot of challenges. During the filming of the documentary, Cherry Pie saw the photos of what happened to her mother for the first time.
Unknown to many, the actress was active in the prison ministry for many years. She returned to her advocacy after the death of her mom.
Cherry Pie said she hoped people would see the process they went through in dealing with the pain after her mother's loss.
"Sana makita ng mga tao na proceso talaga sa tao di ba. That's why anti-death ako and that they deserve a second chance. Because now, iba na yung disposition niya," Cherry Pie said of Michael. (I hope people will see that it is a process. That's why I'm anti-death and I think that they deserve a second chance. Because now, he has a different disposition.)
Speaking before the screening, Cherry Pie said she hopes those who will watch the documentary will be reminded of what radical love is.
"We were graced and blessed with it from the very beginning. I hope that after watching the film, you will be reminded of what love is, what compassion, what forgiveness and what caring for other human beings can do and to take action. I hope that we will reminded the value of our respect for life in all forms."
The documentary premieres on Sunday, July 7 on ABS-CBN. — Rappler.com
