Hermon Castelar Lagman (February 12, 1945 – disappeared May 11, 1977) was a Filipino labor lawyer best known for his role in the Philippine labor sector's resistance against the

Marcos dictatorship At 7:15 p.m. on September 23, 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos announced on television that he had placed the Philippines under martial law, stating he had done so in response to the "communist threat" posed by the newly founded Communist Party ...

, which resulted in his

forced disappearance An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person with the support or acquiescence of a State (polity), state followed by a refusal to acknowledge the person's fate or whereabouts with the i ...

in 1977. In 1992, he was among the first batch of 65 Martial Law era martyrs to be honored by having their names engraved on the Wall of Remembrance at the Philippines

Bantayog ng mga Bayani The Bantayog ng mga Bayani (), sometimes simply referred to as the Bantayog, is a monument, museum, and historical research center in Quezon City, Philippines, which honors the martyrs and heroes of the struggle against the Martial law under F ...

memorial.

Education

Lagman took up an undergraduate degree and later studied law at the

University of the Philippines Diliman The University of the Philippines Diliman (also called UPD; ), also referred to as UP Diliman, is a State university and college (Philippines), public, coeducational, Research university, research university located in Diliman, Quezon City, Ph ...

, where he was senior editor of the

Philippine Collegian The ''Philippine Collegian'', also known as ''Kulê'' (), is an alternative news outlet and the official student publication of the University of the Philippines Diliman. Established in 1922, the Collegian is commonly associated with the natio ...

and later became editor-in-chief of the Law Register, the official paper of the law students at the University of the Philippines.

Career

Upon passing the Philippine bar exams in 1971, Lagman immediately got into labor law, volunteering his services to the Citizens’ Legal Aid Society in the Philippines and eventually becoming a founding member of the

Free Legal Assistance Group The Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) is a nationwide organization of human rights lawyers in the Philippines. It was founded in 1974 by Senate of the Philippines, Sen. Jose W. Diokno, Lorenzo Tañada, J.B.L. Reyes, and Joker Arroyo during th ...

. When Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law in 1972, Lagman was among the first to be arrested, and remained a political detainee for two months. He would later be briefly arrested again in 1976. As a lawyer, Lagman is best remembered for being the legal counsel to many of the labor unions which spearheaded the

1975 La Tondeña Distillery strike The La Tondeña strike was a protest action that happened in October 1975, notable for being the first major strike to be held after Ferdinand Marcos' 1972 declaration of martial law in the Philippines. It is also considered as one of the first ...

, which was one of the first major open acts of resistance against the Marcos dictatorship and an important turning point for the period.

Disappearance

Lagman was accompanied by his associate Victor Reyes while traveling from Quezon City to a meeting in Pasay City on May 11, 1977, when they disappeared. Efforts to find the two in Marcos' various detention centers and military camps produced no results, but Lagman's mother received anonymous call which informed her that the two had been abducted. After that, there was no further news about the location of Lagman or Reyes' bodies. The two are among the 640 individuals who remain missing after having disappeared during the Marcos regime.

Family

Lagman was born Pedro Eduardo Diaz Lagman Jr., a teacher and prosecutor, and Cecilia Castelar, who was also a teacher. Hermon had five other siblings. He was the brother of Filemon "Popoy" Lagman, the founder of the Partido ng Manggagawa and the

Alex Boncayao Brigade The Alex Boncayao Brigade (abbreviated as ABB; also known as the SPARU Unit) was the urban assassination unit of the New People's Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines. Organized in 1984, the unit broke away from the Ne ...

who was

assassinate Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

d in 2001. Another brother,

Edcel Lagman Edcel Castelar Lagman Sr. (, May 1, 1942 – January 30, 2025) was a Filipino human rights lawyer and politician from the province of Albay. He was elected as a member of the House from 1987 to 1998 and 2004 to 2013 and from 2016 up until h ...

, was a

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

lawyer who served as Minority Floor Leader of the

House of Representatives of the Philippines The House of Representatives (; '','' thus commonly referred to as ''Kamara'') is the lower house of Congress of the Philippines, Congress, the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, with the Senate of the Philippines as the upper house. The ...

from 2010 to 2012. His nephew,

Edcel Greco Lagman Edcel Greco Alexandre "Grex" Burce Lagman (born July 24, 1972), is a Filipino lawyer and politician from the province of Albay. On December 1, 2022, he became Governor of Albay following the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) disqualificatio ...

became

Governor of Albay The governor of Albay (; ) is the chief executive of the provincial government of Albay, Philippines. Like all local government heads in the Philippines, the governor is elected via first past the post, popular vote, and may not be elected for ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lagman, Hermon 1945 births 1970s missing person cases Enforced disappearances in the Philippines History of the Philippines (1965–1986) Individuals honored at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Lawyers honored at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Marcos martial law victims Martial law under Ferdinand Marcos Missing person cases in the Philippines Political repression in the Philippines Presidency of Ferdinand Marcos Year of death uncertain

Education

Career

Disappearance

Family

See also

References