Somewhere between AI-generated essays, endless scrolling, and the growing pressure to always be productive, Pope Leo XIV released an encyclical that feels surprisingly personal. Magnifica Humanitas—“On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence”—does not read like a panicked attack against technology. It reads more like a worried but
June 1, 2026
By Herman M. Lagon There are moments in public life when a country does not know whether to laugh, cry, or check the dictionary. Senator Robin Padilla’s latest “force majeure” moment gave us all three options. On paper, it was a question about whether international conflicts, natural disasters, or national emergencies could justify remote voting
May 31, 2026
There was a moment during the recent Senate tensions when the debate suddenly stopped being about rules, quorum, online voting, or constitutional procedure. It became about credentials. Senator Rodante Marcoleta, in the middle of a heated exchange with Senator Risa Hontiveros, remarked that discussions become difficult “kung wala tayong legal background
May 30, 2026
There is a different kind of silence settling across many campuses lately. Not the calm silence before classes start. Not the sleepy quiet of libraries during finals week. This one feels heavier somehow. Election season comes, filing deadlines pass, and suddenly everybody realizes there are barely enough students willing to run.
May 29, 2026
There was something almost cinematic about that Senate walkout Tuesday night. Not cinematic in the polished Netflix sense, but in the very Filipino way where tension, absurdity, humor, and constitutional crisis somehow end up sharing the same cramped jeepney ride. One moment senators were debating a proposal to allow remote participation
May 28, 2026
Knowing the difference between empathy, sympathy, and apathy has quiet power. These three emotional reactions help us to respond to the suffering of others, particularly in close-knit Pinoy communities where shared burdens define relationships. Though they are similar, these emotions have rather different effects on our relationships. While empathy is walking
May 27, 2026
You might not spot them right away. They are rarely the ones in tailored suits or hogging the mic. In a world loud with image and ego, the real leaders move quietly. They listen more, give more, and often face the hardest tasks before most of us even start our day.
May 26, 2026
A few nights ago, I posted a question online that sounded half-sarcastic, half-exhausted: “What do you call a person who, after everything is said and done, will still vote for and defend the corrupt, the slothful, the gasbag, the inept, the vile, the crass, the trapo, the greedy, the prig, and/or the
May 25, 2026
You don’t need to be a historian to know that names carry meaning. Some names build bridges. Others burn them. Most slip into our lives unnoticed—in meals, clothes, and everyday talk. These are eponyms: words born from real names that quietly shape how we speak, learn, and live, long after their
May 23, 2026
A public school teacher posts online about students squeezing themselves under a single electric fan during the peak of summer heat. A government nurse tweets about finishing another shift handling too many patients at once. A municipal employee quietly vents frustration over delayed salaries for job-order workers. Then somebody eventually comments:
May 22, 2026
One quiet tragedy in today’s political culture is how difficult sensible disagreement has become online. Public discussions online have become harder to navigate because emotions now often overpower evidence. People who disagree are quickly labeled enemies, and thoughtful criticism is treated as personal hatred. What was once imagined as a democratic
May 21, 2026
A quick apology in advance for the length of this piece. Perhaps the article became this long after watching nearly an entire day of congressional speeches this Monday—where logic, emotion, theater, constitutional law, and political survival all collided in one livestream. Ironically, this also comes at a time when some sectors
May 20, 2026