Republic of the Philippines

CAVITE STATE UNIVERSITY

Bacoor City Campus
SHIV, Molino VI, City of Bacoor
(046) 476-5029
cvsubacoor@cvsu.edu.ph

Name: LAGRANA, MA. ANGELICA A. Date: 04-03-2024

Section & Course: BS PSYCHOLOGY 3-2 Instructor: MS. JESSICA BANTA

As an individual, there are rules that we must obey that should be respected, that is what
keeps our society living in peace and goodness. With that being said, there are two types of
rules we must obey. One is written in the constitution form of articles which us humans made in
order to protect everyone while the second can be found written in the bible. All of these must
be obeyed in order for us to be a law abiding citizen. But what if one of these laws were not
followed? What will happen to those detained individuals who only got imprisoned due to the
fact that they are being exploited due to them being illiterate? This kind of questions is what the
thirty minutes documentary entitled “Kakosa, kaklase” by Kara David answered as it gives us an
thoroughly explanation of a various prisoners discussing about their own perspective on their
forgiveness as a person and their willingness to change, their undying faith to their almighty God
as well as how education changes their perspective in life.

As I have watched the documentary, there are numerous issues that was being discussed.
The first is that the prisoners obviously lacks in terms of education. Some of them did not know
how to write their own names and their own birthdays and to put things worst, although the
result was somehow good since it became his prime motivation to do well on every thing that he
does, one of the interviewed inmates named Richard has a psychological disorder . Also, some
of them were too illiterate to know the cause of their sentences and their own lawyers because
of being illiterate. This kind of dilemma was somehow important in discussing ethics due to the
fact that prisoners, no matter how bad they have done, are still human therefore they still
deserve proper treatment the same way a normal individual deserves. Ethics is our standards of
“good and bad” that was distinguished by a certain community or social settings. On the other
hand, Morality is something that is personal and normative. With that being said, in the
documentary, the prisoners illustrate that as a human being, they are still able to contemplate on
the wrong or bad things that they have done and atone for their sins by doing things that they
think is morally accepted. As an example, one of the inmates namely Antonio who has a lifetime
sentence of imprisonment atone for his sins by teaching other inmates in ALS or Alternative
Learning School inside the Bilibid Prison. To him, it is what he thinks is socially accepted that he
can do in order to atone for his sins. Although he is aware that what he has done in the past
was wrong, by simply asking for forgiveness to his God and by doing things that he thinks was
morally right, it becomes his way of showing his sincerity that he is willing to change for the
better.

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 Republic of the Philippines
CAVITE STATE UNIVERSITY
Bacoor City Campus
SHIV, Molino VI, City of Bacoor
(046) 476-5029
cvsubacoor@cvsu.edu.ph

Additionally, in terms of decision making, the factor that affects them when making decisions
was their etiquette evaluation. This kind of evaluation was the conduct or procedure that is
required or even prescribed by authority to be observed on a daily basis. To put it in simple
terms, it is the polite as well as impolite behavior of an individual. Furthermore, In terms of Moral
development that was proposed by Kohlberg, the level where the prisoner belongs to is the level
three which is the Post conventional Morality. It is due to the fact that it is characterized by a
person’s own understanding of their own ethical principles. This often happens whenever an
individual decides based on their own perception of what they think is right rather than just
simply following the rules of the society. Therefore, At this level, values are abstract and ill
defined but still might include the following such as preservation of life at all cost as well as the
importance of their own dignity.

There is always a goodness deep within ourselves that makes us worthy of having a second
chance. Aside from that, it is also amusing that not all inmates are bad, some wanted to atone
their sins and wanted to change for the better while others didn't. Therefore, Just like what the
Basic Literacy Program worker said in the documentary, as human beings, we are practically
good. and with this fact, we can all agree that all human beings deserve to be treated equally in
a way that both law and ethics will suffice.