DON’T GIVE UP ON US

Ever-the-control-freak Abby (Judy Ann Santos) believes she is on top of things as she heads the preparation for the wedding of her younger brother Samuel to her best friend Sabina. But when Sabina suddenly walks out of her own despedida de soltera headed to God-knows-where, the wedding frenzy takes a sour turn.

Armed with the cassette tape (with the name of the song, singer, and recording venue on its label) she got from Sabina’s left-behind bag as her only lead, Abby vows to find Sabina and bring her back to Manila in time for the wedding.

Abby’s search takes her to Baguio. There she meets Vince (Piolo Pascual), a folk singer in a local pub whose voice Abby heard in Sabina’s tape. Vince admits it’s his voice but claims not to know Sabina. He remembers the cassette tape, though – he recorded the song for his good friend Matt who was supposed to give it to his loved one. Abby persuades Vince to bring her to his friend Matt in the hope of finding Sabina.

As Abby and Vince travel through the mountains of La Trinidad, Banaue, and Sagada, they inevitably get to know each other better. Abby, being the cosmopolitan Manileña, assesses Vince as not really having any big aspirations in life but, nonetheless, tries to convince him to try his luck in the city as a singer. Vince, used to the laid-back pace of provincial life, advises Abby she could use some time to “stop and smell the flowers” so as to relieve herself of pent-up stress brought about by city lifestyle. By the time they find Matt and Sabina, Abby and Vince have come to affect each other both mentally and emotionally.

As they return to their respective lives, Abby and Vince are both convinced to give the other person’s “advice” a try, albeit separately: Vince returns to the city and makes a successful career as a singer, while Abby quits her high-paying job in Manila to try out farming life in Benguet.

By some coincidence, their paths cross for the second time in their lives. This time, they are ready to answer the very question they posed to each other the first time they met: When you meet that one person you are meant to be with, would you be willing to give up everything you have just to be with him/her?