JUNE 5, 1989 was the day Oscar Lagman’s column, “Musings,” was written. fifirst published in BusinessWorld. It was a short, hard-hitting piece explaining why Filipinos were shocked by Oliver North’s conviction in the Iran-Contra scandal for writing a series of scandals that failed to offend us. In the next 36 years, he would be considering the issues, scandals and hopes of the political life of this country. On February 3, 2026, Mr. Lagman’s final column of BW was published, a critical piece complaining about the decision of the Supreme Court regarding the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte where he urged the Catholic bishops that their flock should accuse the Court of not supporting the Constitution.
Mr. Lagman passed away on Feb. 16, 2026.
For years one would read a small note at the end of his column: “Oscar P. Lagman, Jr. he has been a keen observer of Philippine politics since the late 1950s.”
Born on May 30, 1938, in the late 1950s he was a student at De La Salle College where he graduated with a BSC in Accounting and an AB major in Humanities, fiseniors that served him well in his subsequent careers as a business executive, entrepreneur, business consultant, and management professor.
His brilliant mind was sharpened by continuing education: he received an MBA from the University of San Francisco, certificates in Population Administration from the University of North Carolina, in Environmental Management from the Center d’Etudes Industrialles Geneva, and in Managed Care from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
His work over the decades was extensive. Starting as a research associate with a polling company (Robot Statistics Manila), he entered marketing (J. Walter Thompson Manila, J. Walter Thompson New York), accounting (John F. Forbes, CPA, San Francisco), health insurance (Blue Cross Health Insurance Manila), real estate development (Gateway Property Holdings, Consulting Head of ManiV); Director of Consulting Manila Health Consulting). All this I am also an entrepreneur, opening a chain of ice cream shops (Coney Island Ice Cream), a drug store (Peerless Drugs), a health business (The Healthcare Alternative which serviced workers health care plans), and also went into communication skills training.
Nevertheless, he never lost his focus on education, teaching at the Asian Institute of Management, the Ateneo Graduate School of Business and the Ateneo Graduate School of Hospital Administration, the Far Eastern University, the Makati Graduate School of Business, and his beloved alma mater, De La Salle, where he taught at the Graduate School of Business and the College of St.
As his daughter Maysie Lagman wrote on his Facebook page, “Dad was an avid La Sallian who ‘stayed on campus’ for decades after graduation. He never really left La Salle.” Aside from teaching there, in his senior years, he would “brave the crowds and strong steps of the Araneta Coliseum” to cheer for his alma mater during UAAP games.
It is somewhat unsurprising that Mr Lagman met the “love of his life,” his wife, Cecile, when she was a professor at AIM and his travel agent. They married in 1974 and had three children. – AH
