By Herman M. Lagon Sometimes it comes quietly — not with announcements or goodbyes, but with the ordinary weight of a moment. A daughter comes home unexpectedly two weeks before Christmas, sits across the table as herself, and you realize the child you once held no longer needs holding — just as she prepares to …
Impulses
Gen Z rewrites politics
By Herman M. Lagon Something has been silently growing underneath for a while now, and it would rather not be ignored anymore. You can see it on the streets and on your phone, in handwritten signs and shared symbols, and in young voices that seem more tired than angry. What many people term the Gen …
Blind obedience kills truth
By Herman M. Lagon Try a small exercise. The next time someone with a title — director, colonel, president, CEO, doctor, attorney, chairperson, mayor, congressman — tells you, “Share this, it is official,” pause. Ask, “How do we know?” That pause is where truth often survives. Albert Einstein once warned that blind obedience to authority …
When Black quietly delivers gold
By Herman M. Lagon The images that stay with us in Philippine basketball are usually loud — arms raised, crowds shaking arenas, emotions spilling over. This time, gold arrived without theatrics. In Bangkok, it came through subtraction: fewer stars, fewer assurances, fewer breaks. What remained was a group that trusted one another, anchored by a …
Rights rooted in heritage
By Herman M. Lagon Some of the boldest truths in history came from the quietest voices. Buried under Babylonian soil, the Cyrus Cylinder declared that people deserved freedom to worship and to live without chains. Centuries later, the Mande Charter in Mali proclaimed that life is sacred, women matter in governance, and children deserve education. …
The city when no one else is looking
By Herman M. Lagon There are evenings when a city introduces itself without fanfare — no tourist pitch, no Instagram glow, no curated charm. Last Friday, after Day 1 of our micro-credentials workshop in Bacolod, I walked out of Northwest Inn and let my feet take the lead. It has become a small ritual I …
Beyond gender lines
By Herman M. Lagon The workplace is often just a mirror of society — and the biases outside seep right in. Gender expectations still influence who gets the big tasks, whose opinions matter and whose efforts fade into the background. Gender neutrality gives us a way to change that. It is not denying inequality but …
The unwritten code
By Herman M . Lagon We live in a world quietly guided by invisible rules — those unspoken cues we’re never formally taught, yet somehow instinctively follow. They don’t show up in manuals or school syllabi, but they shape our days just the same. These quiet norms make life a little less awkward, a …
Social IQ: The real game changer
By Herman M. Lagon Years of embarrassing meetings let me realize that intelligence is insufficient for success. Being an introvert, social events drain me; occasionally, even small talks feel demanding. But life does not allow isolation, particularly in cases of leadership that call for cooperation and connection. Assuming administrative and cooperative roles in academia and …
We told them thusly
By Herman M. Lagon The mood always shifts when someone cracks a hard truth with a grin. These days, one line has become shorthand in classrooms, sari-sari stores, FB posts, and jeepney queues: “We told them thusly.” Borrowed from “TBBT” Sheldon Cooper’s smug wit, it is less a taunt than a coping tool. Teachers mutter …