Impulses

By Herman M. Lagon We recognize delicadeza best when someone breaks it. One word on live teleradio — “tanga” — made offices and classrooms feel tense. People stopped debating policy and started asking about tone, respect and what public office demands. The clash between Senator Rodante Marcoleta and Abante Radyo anchor Marlo Dalisay was less …

By Herman M. Lagon A few weeks ago, a senior high adviser caught her class buzzing over a viral Facebook post. It claimed to offer new scholarships, and several students had already submitted their IDs. Instead of scolding, she quietly projected the official city scholarship page on the board and explained the difference. The room …

By Herman M. Lagon Saying vote buying is “normal” is not harmless talk. When a person who seeks or holds public office says it out loud, it signals a willingness to break the rules that protect everyone else. It lowers the bar for the whole city, town or barangay. People hear a leader excuse a …

By Herman M. Lagon The streets taught a better homily than most pulpits last weekend. Students, teachers, farmers, nurses, drivers, parents, and faithfuls pressed together at the Trillion Peso March, a slow tide of people saying the simplest of lessons: Stop stealing public money. Many faith communities in Iloilo showed up with placards and prayers. …

By Herman M. Lagon The clip lasted only a few seconds. A young woman onstage at Luneta raised her fist, led a chant against corruption, and looked out at a sea of umbrellas, tarpaulins and homemade signs. It was martial law day, and thousands had gathered for the Trillion Peso March in cities across the …

By Herman M. Lagon She was not late, but her whole vibe said she wished she were anywhere else. Once the class star in SHS, now a quiet figure at the back of a college classroom, notebook hugged to her chest like it could explain everything. Her eyes bounced from the professor, to the projector, …

By Herman M. Lagon The streets were loud again last weekend. Across Luneta, Iloilo, Cebu, and Cagayan de Oro, we filled the streets with chants, placards and even dogs in protest vests — united against corruption that washed away trust and flood funds. An ordinary Sunday turned historic as rally veterans from the 90s marched …

By Herman M. Lagon The Trillion Peso March is not just a gathering. It is the nation’s conscience stepping out of its house and into the streets. People are marching not only against corruption but for something more fundamental — the right to the truth. Without truth, trust dies, and with it, the very idea …

By Herman M. Lagon                          September 21 is no ordinary date. It marks 53 years since martial law was declared, when silence was enforced and fear was law. Today, the call is different: to show up, not in fear but in fairness. The “Trillion …

By Herman M. Lagon A colleague once joked that the cheapest therapist in the country was a Jollibee Chickenjoy meal. It was funny — but only because it was a little too true. When things get rough, most of us do not reflect or take a walk. We eat. And often, not out of hunger, …