GMA urged to sanction PRC officials

A group of nurses and nursing college deans from Baguio City urged President Arroyo yesterday to impose the "necessary sanctions" against officials of the Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC) who allegedly attempted to cover up the leakage in last June’s nursing licensure examinations.

In a statement, Dr. Mary Grace Lacanaria, dean of the St. Louis University College of Nursing, said they denounce "in the strongest possible terms the reckless manner" by which the PRC handled the alleged fraud.

Even if it had overwhelming evidence on hand, the PRC still "audaciously claimed" in a public statement that there was no leakage, she added.

The group cited reasons why PRC officials need to be held liable for "exerting every possible effort to cover up the fraud."

Lawyer Cheryl Daytec-Yangot, legal counsel of some complainants, accused the PRC of attempting to suppress the complaint when PRC Chairwoman Leonor Tripon-Rosero did not act on their complaint as early as June 22 before the issue was publicized in the media.

"There were attempts to thumb down, cover up (the controversy)," she said.

Yangot said when the PRC could not cover up the leakage, Rosero insisted on conducting the investigation amid resounding calls for an independent investigating body.

"What were the fruits of the PRC investigation?" she asked. "It only acknowledged that there was leakage but it could not determine the culprits."

The attempt to cover up became more evident when the PRC swiftly conducted an oath-taking of the board passers to overtake the action of the judicial branch on the validity of results of the examinations, Yangot said.

"The leakage is an eye-opener," she said.

The group of nursing deans and nursing professionals said the alleged leakage exposed the bitter truth that "our government is groping in the dark in its handling of the fraud."

"It confirms that cheating is endemic in our system and is seemingly tolerated even by the agency that should be the first to denounce it," the group said.

Yangot was accompanied by Lacanaria, Dean Ruth Thelma Tingda of College of Nursing, Easter College; Norenia Dao-Ayen, president of the Philippine Nurses Association-Baguio chapter; Dr. Erlinda Palaganas, group adviser; and Rachel Cyndi-Erfe, one of the complaining examinees, during last Thursday’s hearing at the Senate.

The Baguio group supported calls for a retake if only to help wipe out the stigma caused by the controversy on the nursing leakage.

"Painful as it may be, retaking the spoiled portions — Tests III and V-of the examination is the less unjust course to adopt," the group said.

"A retake must happen soon because the examinees’ fate cannot remain in a state of suspended animation."

The group also took a hard stance against the proliferation of nursing review schools in the country, which they likened to the operation of convenience stores.

"In other words, the operation of review schools is no different from the operation of sari-sari stores, except that compared to the latter, review schools are definitely raking in cash," the group said.

"No agency of the State steps in to regulate them."

The group attributed the proliferation of fly-by-night review schools to the absence of regulatory powers on the part of the government. — Christina Mendez