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.

Finishing  2 days of shoot in the middle of a  tight security in Navotas City, the production team  is all set to shift  to Marikina City on Thursday.

The production crew ended its filming in Navotas City and began  preparing for  scenes at a market in Marikina, radio dzBB reported early Thursday.

However,  the filming in Marikina City might not be as long  as the crew is slated to shoot scenes at the Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) Rotonda area in Pasay City this weekend.

From Friday to Sunday, the crew’s schedule will take place along Rotonda area shooting  action-packed scenes, the report added.

Meanwhile, bystanders are prohibited to take pictures  and videos while shoot is going on.
 

 
 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.
 

Chinese New Year Celebration will happen on  Jan. 23 to 25.  On those days,  the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong will be closed to the public  for the Lunar New Year holidays.

In addition to that, the  Philippine Embassy in Thailand also made an announcement that their office will also be closed on Monday for the Chinese New Year.
 
 In its announcement released  on its website, the Consulate General in Hong Kong said their  services will be available to the public on January 26, a Thursday.
 
“The Philippine Consulate General wishes to inform the public that it will be closed on 23, 24 and 25 January 2012 (Monday and Wednesday) on the occasion of the Lunar New Year’s Day,” it said.
 

After the long  search, the housemaid found guilty of poisoning and robbing her employers in Manila and Quezon City was arrested at a bus terminal in Zamboanga City yesterday. The housemaid has  escaped from the Women’s Correctional facility in Mandaluyong City.

According to Zamboanga City police chief Senior Superintendent Edwin de Ocampo, Anamae Livrando, 31, was “on her way to Cagayan de Oro or Butuan City to get a passport because the (Department of Foreign Affairs office) in this city is strict about issuing passports.”

He added Livrando – also known as  “Poison Ivy” by police investigators in Manila – was planning to fly to Malaysia to avoid jail.

Livrando made her escape  from the Manila City Jail in 2008  during a trial for frustrated homicide and robbery However she  was recaptured in August 2011 after victimizing two more families. She was serving her sentence for multiple serious physical injuries and robbery when she made her latest escape.

Her plan  is to make friends with security guards of high-end condominiums and would ask  them to put a good word  for her when she applies of a job as a housemaid. Once accepted, she would poison her employer’s family then steal their things while they are in the hospital.

Floyd Mayweather revives  challenge to Pacquiao on Twitter

Renewing his challenge he made on Twitter earlier, American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Wednesday (Manila time) is now challenging  Filipino boxing icon and Sarangani Rep. Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao to fight him  on May 5.
 
In his  posts on his Twitter account,  Mayweather  vowed  to serve Pacquiao an "ass-whooping."
 
"I’m ready to fight Pacquiao 5/5/12…  Bob Arum know the date can’t change, I have my guarantee… call Schaefer & Al and stop lying to the public," he said.

Schaefer is Golden Boy’s CEO Richard Schaefer, who has represented Mayweather in his previous  fights. On the other hand, Al refers to Al Haymon, Mayweather’s manager.
 
He added that while Jan. 16 was the birth anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Jan. 17 is the birthday of boxing legend Muhammad Ali, "May 5th is Pacquiao ass whooping day."
 
Mayweather also challenged his  critics who said claimed that he was afraid of  fighting Pacquiao, and now saying he is begging for it.

"First They say I’m Ducking the Fight. But now it seems like I’m begging for the fight.. What is going on?" he 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.