Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI)

The Independent Commission for Infrastructure or ICI is an independent commission created by Philippine President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. to investigate flood control projects in the country.

The chairman, the special adviser, and the two members of the commission were announced on September 15, 2025. They are as follows: 

Chairman - Andres Reyes Jr. (former Supreme Court Associate Justice)

Special Adviser - Benjamin Magalong (Mayor of Baguio City)

Member - Rogelio "Babes" Singson (former Department of Public Works and Highways secretary)

Member - Rossana Fajardo (Country Managing Partner in SGV and. Co.)

"The Life of Violet: Three Early Stories" by Virginia Woolf to be Published by the Princeton University Press This October

September 9, 2025

Exciting news for admirers of Virginia Woolf's work. This coming October, a short collection of her earliest and never-been-published stories will be published by the Princeton University Press. 

The collection is described as Woolf's "first fully realized work of fiction". She wrote them in 1907, eight years before the publication of her first novel, "The Voyage Out". 

The new book carries the title "The Life of Violet: Three Early Stories". The stories are:

1. "Friendships Gallery"

2. "The Magic Garden"

3. "A Story to Make You Sleep"

A short excerpt from the book's blurb:

"A beguiling trio of fantastical and farcical anti-fairy tales about a giantess who builds a magical “cottage of one’s own,” battles a silver-scaled sea monster, and defies governesses and gravity alike."

The book comes out October 7, 2025. It was edited by Urmila Seshagiri. 

Manalo

Evidence: Christopher Glenn Mercado Bautista

Ambeth Ocampo Launches His Own Podcast Called "Ambeth Revealed"

July 27, 2025 - Everyone's favorite Filipino historian just launched his podcast today. In a video posted on his YouTube channel and in a subsequent post in his Facebook page, Ambeth Ocampo announced that he has officially entered the podcasting world. 

The name of his podcast? Ambeth Revealed. The podcast will be hosted by Lance Cham. 

Ocampo captured the public's attention with his prolific body of work. He has written dozens of books and edited dozens more. He is most well-known for his books about Jose Rizal and other Filipino national heroes. He also writes a popular column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

It will be interesting how this goes. I'm looking forward to what Ocampo can do with the podcasting model. He's an effective lecturer but lecturing is a different beast from podcasting.