By Herman M. Lagon There is a familiar scene many workers know by heart. The clock moves, attendance is checked, and a missed day means less money. Teachers know it. Nurses know it. Factory workers, cashiers and contractuals know it too. That is why the recent push to apply a “no work, no pay” rule …
Impulses
Not just a transport strike
By Herman M. Lagon The taxi smelled faintly of gasoline and menthol candy, the kind drivers chew to stay awake past lunch. It was a Sunday, quiet enough for conversation, and I asked the driver how things were. He did not hesitate. “Sir, net ko na lang mga trescientos singkwenta sa dose ka oras.” Around …
Why medals are not enough
By Herman M. Lagon Every graduation has its rituals. Mothers adjust collars with nervous hands. Fathers clear their throats more than usual. Students grin for photos while quietly wondering what comes after the applause. Then come the honors — medals, ribbons and Latin words that sound grand during graduation. In many of our homes, they …
The trap of illusory authority
By Herman M. Lagon There is a strange moment that happens when you step down from a position of authority. It is not dramatic. No orchestra plays. No one announces, “You are now ordinary.” Instead, it is quieter and more dangerous. People still greet you the same way. They still ask for your opinion, online …
Doctors who show up
By Herman M. Lagon There are government programs that look good in press releases and disappear the moment the camera leaves. The Doctors to the Barrios (DTTB) program is not one of them. It has survived because the need has never left. In 1993, then Health Secretary Juan Flavier started DTTB to send physicians to …
A nation on the edge
By Herman M. Lagon There was a time when a P1 fuel hike could already send transport and progressive groups to the streets — whistles, placards, radio voices full of urgency. Many Boomers and Gen Xers remember that. Today, diesel has crossed P100 in some areas, gasoline is also on its way, and the reaction …
The meaning behind prom
By Herman M. Lagon A student once told me, half-laughing and half-serious, that prom now feels like “Met Gala meets anime convention meets class reunion with soft launch potential.” That was a joke, but only partly. Anyone who has seen recent prom photos online knows what she meant. There are entrances staged like celebrity arrivals, …
Will Willie draw the line?
By Herman M. Lagon Sometimes the best way to notice change in a society is to watch how people react to a joke. Not the joke itself, but the pause that follows. Laughter comes quickly in television studios, yet viewers at home often feel something more complicated. That seemed to be the case when a …
A UN seat worth taking
By Herman M. Lagon Fans of the “John Wick” films will remember a recurring phrase: “a seat at the table.” In that fictional underworld, the High Table is where power sits. Those who have a seat help shape the rules. Those who do not are forced to live with them. It is a dramatic way …
Mindsets, not miniskirts
By Herman M. Lagon Some debates fade away with time. Others keep coming back, like a stain that refuses to leave a white shirt. The debate about how women dress belongs to the latter. Every few years it returns — after a celebrity remark, a viral post or a lecture that sounds more like a …