During  his third State of the Union Address, President Obama encouraged  the US Congress on Wednesday (Manila time) to submit  to him for his signature a bill that will utilize  a combination of tax incentives and disincentives created to make American and multinational firms in the US produce  jobs in that country instead of overseas.

In addition to that, the US President also asked the US Congress to pass immigration legislation that would permit  young people in America from  foreign descent to obtain a  US citizenship.
 
“The opponents of action are out of excuses.  We should be working on comprehensive immigration reform right now.  But if election-year politics keeps Congress from acting on a comprehensive plan, let’s at least agree to stop expelling responsible young people who want to staff our labs, start new businesses, defend this country.  Send me a law that gives them the chance to earn their citizenship.  I will sign it right away,” the US president said.

 
 According to news release from the office of  Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH),  the agency  has allocated from its 2012 budget P78.099 billion  for building, rehabilitating, widening and upgrading national roads.
 
DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson said they plan to cover  15,872 kilometers (km) of national arterial roads by 2014 and 15,370 km of national secondary roads by 2016.
 
“The DPWH, true to its mandate, should focus its efforts on improving the quality and safety of our national roads, which, unfortunately was neglected in the past due to a poor selection and subjective process in the prioritization of national road projects,” Singson said.

DPWH stated that its priority for this year is to   upgrade national roads by concreting or widening arterial roads leading to tourism destinations, airports, RORO ports, food production areas, and economic zones.
 
“With the implementation of World Bank-assisted International Road Assessment Program (iRAP Philippines), the DPWH aims to adhere to international safety standards,” Singson said.
 

The presiding judge Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile,  has denied yesterday the motion of the prosecution panel to call  Chief Justice Renato Corona and members of his family to testify before the impeachment trial.

Earlier, Enrile turned down the motion of Corona’s camp to  prohibit the use of private prosecutors by the House ?of Representative’s prosecution panel.

The Senate President’s ruling to deny the prosecution’s motion to require the appearance of the chief magistrate and his family to testify on their assets was defied  by Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano.

“The question… is may they claim this qualification of privilege not to testify against the respondent in an impeachment trial? It really depends on the purpose and the author of the evidence. But we are not yet there… In any event, the time to invoke this is when they are called to testify,” he said.

Following Cayetano’s motion to “divide the house,” the senator-judges voted 14-6 to uphold Enrile’s ruling.

On Tuesday, it was announced that the  captain of a luxury liner Costa Concordia which ran aground off the coast of Italy last week will be removed  from prison but instead to be  put under house arrest, his defense lawyer told journalists on Tuesday.

Judge Valeria Montesarchio ordered  that Costa Concordia captain Francesco Schettino should be placed under house arrest, lawyer Bruno Leporatti said.

Schettino is still on hold  waiting for the  trial on allegations  of multiple homicide and abandoning ship while passengers were still on board.     He was detained since  Saturday when chief prosecutor Francesco Verusio said he was an escape risk.

The vast Costa Concordia cruise ship carrying over 4,000 passengers flipped sideways after hitting a rock .  Around  11 people have died and 29 are still missing.

Record shows  that the number of US pedestrians who have been hurt or killed  because of  wearing headphones has tripled in six years, according to a study published Tuesday.

The yearly tally has increased  from 16 in 2004 to 47 in 2011, making the total of cases to 116 over this period, say the authors.

More than half of the incidents linked to pedestrians who were run down by trains.

Two-thirds of the victims were males and under the age of 30.

The research which was published in the British journal Injury Prevention, was lead  by Richard Lichenstein of the University of Maryland Hospital for Children in Baltimore.

The probe  of US accident statistics covered iPods, MP3 players and other musical devices. Meanwhile it did not include mobile phones.

Reportedly, Chief Justice Renato Corona will not participate in the Supreme Court hearings on 5 petitions asking  to stop his impeachment trial in the Senate. This was according to court administrator and spokesman Jose Midas Marquez.

A deliberation will be done by the high court  on the 5 petitions tomorrow. 

The petitions were  filed by "tax informer" Danilo Lihaylihay, lawyer Vladimir Cabigao, former Integrated Bar of the Philippines President Vicente Millora, lawyer Oliver Lozano, and lawyers Homobono Adaza and Allan Paguia. They  want the Supreme Court to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) on Corona’s impeachment trial in the Senate.

The petitioners claim that the 188 congressmen who signed the articles of impeachment failed to properly verify the complaint.

They alleged  the lawmakers of committing perjury, at the same time violating the Constitution and the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

The petitioners think that Corona’s impeachment violated due process and the equal protection clause of the Constitution.

 The  huge cruise liner accident off the coast of Italy is not just a disaster for the ship’s owners, however, it could also affect  the industry which is already facing stiff headwinds.

On Friday, the Costa Concordia, carrying  more than 4,000 people on board, flipped on its side when it hit  a rock on Friday night  near an  island of Giglio, off Italy’s west coast.

 Around five people were reported dead in the accident.

Good news for job hunters out there!

Excel Service Holdings, a New York-based global provider of outsourcing and transformation services made an announcement that  they will be adding an additional facility in the Philippines.

The opening  will give operations in insurance, healthcare, customer service, finance, accounting and legal services, which will most likely  create about a thousand high-level jobs in the Philippines.

Currently, Excel Services  in the Philippines has already employed 1,500 professionals.

Meanwhile, a report from the US Labor Department yesterday  states that an increase of 24,000 more people filing for unemployment benefits last week.
 

Since  the  devotees of the Black Nazarene see themselves in times of  poverty and every day  struggles to the wounds and tribulations experienced by Jesus, the people went to Quiapo despite the fact that  their patron’s feast is still three days away.

The crowd is starting to get big in Manila’s Quiapo district Friday, causing  traffic in the area.
 
Majority of the  followers occupied  several lanes of Quezon Boulevard as they went to Quiapo Church for the First Friday Mass, radio dzBB’s Carlo Mateo reported.
 
In addition to that, some  vendors were also in the area, selling Black Nazarene-themed items such as handkerchiefs, towels, replicas of the Black Nazarene and other religious items.
 
Only two to three lanes of Quezon Boulevard was passable to traffic early morning, the report said.
 
As this progressed, the city government issued an order repairing the  facilities where the procession was to pass through.
 
In particular with this event, Mayor Alfredo Lim  ordered the city engineer’s office ensure that the  electrical and phone wires do not dangle from posts at the procession route.
 
Meanwhile, in the dzBB report, the  parades will kick off  in Quiapo as early as Saturday, along with the Black Nazarene replicas.

Report has it that there will be some  Filipino celebrities that will  be  a part of the much-awaited film "Bourne Legacy" starring Hollywood star Jeremy Renner.

The confirmation came from Metro Manila Development Authority chairman Francis Tolentino. However he refused to give the names of the celebrities joining the film.

He added that  preparations for the shoot in different  locations in Metro Manila are already finished.

"Ang alam ko po ay mayroon pong ilan tayong mga artistang makakasama din pero hindi ko pwedeng ma-disclose. Lahat ng settings ay well prepared na po. Nagulat nga po ako, akala ko ngayon lang sila magpi-prepara tapos na po ang preparation at ilalabas na lang yan," he told radio dzMM.  He also said this film took 3 years preparing the scenes.

"Marami tayong mga kabahayan dito sa Kamaynilaan na naayos na. Ito po ang mga indoor shots at gagamiting eksena. Tahimik po pati ang mga barangay officials ay tahimik din po na tapos na pala ang mga yon before the Christmas season na nakumpuni na yung mga barangay hall," he added.

Currebtky  the film’s cameraman is  in Manila and that a group from Entertainment Tonight will arrive soon.

The places mentioned were Intramuros and somewhere in Roxas Boulevard.