School dean goes to court to stop nurses from taking oath
School dean goes to court
to stop nurses from taking oath
By Francis Earl A. Cueto, Reporter
A nursing-school dean on Thursday asked the Court of Appeals to stop nursing students who passed the leakage-tainted licensure exams from taking their oath this month.
Dean Marco Antonio Sto. Tomas, vice-president of the Association of Deans of the Philippine Colleges of Nursing, petitioned the court for a temporary restraining order a day after an examinee described at a Senate inquiry how he and other reviewers were shown test questions in advance by the president of the Philippine Nurses Association.
Sto. Tomas wanted the August 22 oathtaking of successful examinees before regional officers of the Professional Regulation Commission stopped because it would be shrouded in doubts.
He said it was “incomprehensible” that the PRC released the results of the exams and allowed a voluntary retake despite allegations of a leak.
“What are they trying to protect? The biggest question now is: who was paid the P7 million?” Sto. Tomas said, referring to the money that two examiners allegedly received in exchange for the leak.
At Wednesday’s Senate hearing, Eufemia Octaviano, the PRC’s Board of Nursing chairman, testified that she and colleague Anesia Dionisio spent for their trip to Switzerland, which was allegedly part of the package.
Sto. Tomas insisted on a retake for all examinees because “there’s no other way to redeem the credibility” of the nursing board exam given in June.
Rene Tadle of the task force on leakage based at the University of Santo Tomas supports Sto. Tomas’ position.
He said that despite UST’s 83-percent passing rate in that board exam, allowing all the successful examinees to get their licenses to practice with this still unresolved leak scandal “posed a danger to public health and safety as their competencies were not properly measured.”
“This is very, very painful for us, but we’re telling our students that this is beyond the individual now, this involves the integrity of the exams themselves,” Tadle said.
He appealed to the PRC to listen to their petitions to have the oath-taking stopped.
“Please listen to us. [The scandal] is not our fault. It is not the fault of the examinees. But nothing but a retake can resolve the issue. What will happen if they are later proven wrong? Will they take back the licenses they issued? Kawawa naman ang mga bata [Pity the examinees],” Tadle said.
Sto. Tomas also confirmed that George Cordero, president of the Philippine Nurses Association, had resigned after he was implicated at the hearing. An examinee, Dennis Bautista, said that the leak originated from Cordero himself.
Sto. Tomas said Marilyn Yap, PNA vice-president for administration, would succeed Cordero.
He said, however, that other PNA officials from the regions were calling for the resignation of all five members of the PNA executive committee.
He said Victoria Ramon, PNA vice-president for programs, should also resign after Bautista told the hearing that Ramon was in the final coaching session at SM Manila, where the leaked questions were given to the students.
Ramon admitted that she was there but only because her daughter was an examinee.
On Thursday Richard Gordon called for the overhauling of the system in the nursing profession.
“Why can an owner of a nursing school also own a review center and at the same time be appointed as president of the Philippine Nurses Association?” Gordon asked, alluding to Cordero, who also owns the Philippine College of Health Sciences (PCHS) and INRESS Review Center.
“The situation and the names of persons given in the exam were exactly the same as the questions flashed on the screen during our final coaching,” Bautista told the Senate Committee on Civil Service and Government Reorganization, headed by Sen. Rodolfo Biazon.
Pamela Ortega, also a PCHS student, confessed to Dr. Letty Kuan, a member of the Board of Nursing, that she overheard Cordero saying during the final coaching at SM Cinema in Manila that he “did not pay P7 million for nothing” in relation to the leakage.
Cordero has accused Ortega of providing the R.A. Gapuz Review Center with copies of the handwritten leakage.
The PRC has recommended administrative charges against Board of Nursing members Anesia Dioniso and Virginia Madeja for neglect of duty.
The PRC also found that Cordero was involved in the leakage.
Gordon will file a bill regulating the operation of review centers not under the Department of Trade and Industry but probably by the Commission on Higher Education.
“The nursing schools should also be the ones to conduct the review for their graduates so that they would no longer need to enroll in review centers that charge them huge sums of money,” he said.
Gordon supports the retaking of the examinations to safeguard the “credibility and integrity” of Filipino nurses and to punish those responsible for the leakage of the test questions.
FROM: The Manila Times
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/aug/18/yehey/top_stories/20060818top2.html
to stop nurses from taking oath
By Francis Earl A. Cueto, Reporter
A nursing-school dean on Thursday asked the Court of Appeals to stop nursing students who passed the leakage-tainted licensure exams from taking their oath this month.
Dean Marco Antonio Sto. Tomas, vice-president of the Association of Deans of the Philippine Colleges of Nursing, petitioned the court for a temporary restraining order a day after an examinee described at a Senate inquiry how he and other reviewers were shown test questions in advance by the president of the Philippine Nurses Association.
Sto. Tomas wanted the August 22 oathtaking of successful examinees before regional officers of the Professional Regulation Commission stopped because it would be shrouded in doubts.
He said it was “incomprehensible” that the PRC released the results of the exams and allowed a voluntary retake despite allegations of a leak.
“What are they trying to protect? The biggest question now is: who was paid the P7 million?” Sto. Tomas said, referring to the money that two examiners allegedly received in exchange for the leak.
At Wednesday’s Senate hearing, Eufemia Octaviano, the PRC’s Board of Nursing chairman, testified that she and colleague Anesia Dionisio spent for their trip to Switzerland, which was allegedly part of the package.
Sto. Tomas insisted on a retake for all examinees because “there’s no other way to redeem the credibility” of the nursing board exam given in June.
Rene Tadle of the task force on leakage based at the University of Santo Tomas supports Sto. Tomas’ position.
He said that despite UST’s 83-percent passing rate in that board exam, allowing all the successful examinees to get their licenses to practice with this still unresolved leak scandal “posed a danger to public health and safety as their competencies were not properly measured.”
“This is very, very painful for us, but we’re telling our students that this is beyond the individual now, this involves the integrity of the exams themselves,” Tadle said.
He appealed to the PRC to listen to their petitions to have the oath-taking stopped.
“Please listen to us. [The scandal] is not our fault. It is not the fault of the examinees. But nothing but a retake can resolve the issue. What will happen if they are later proven wrong? Will they take back the licenses they issued? Kawawa naman ang mga bata [Pity the examinees],” Tadle said.
Sto. Tomas also confirmed that George Cordero, president of the Philippine Nurses Association, had resigned after he was implicated at the hearing. An examinee, Dennis Bautista, said that the leak originated from Cordero himself.
Sto. Tomas said Marilyn Yap, PNA vice-president for administration, would succeed Cordero.
He said, however, that other PNA officials from the regions were calling for the resignation of all five members of the PNA executive committee.
He said Victoria Ramon, PNA vice-president for programs, should also resign after Bautista told the hearing that Ramon was in the final coaching session at SM Manila, where the leaked questions were given to the students.
Ramon admitted that she was there but only because her daughter was an examinee.
On Thursday Richard Gordon called for the overhauling of the system in the nursing profession.
“Why can an owner of a nursing school also own a review center and at the same time be appointed as president of the Philippine Nurses Association?” Gordon asked, alluding to Cordero, who also owns the Philippine College of Health Sciences (PCHS) and INRESS Review Center.
“The situation and the names of persons given in the exam were exactly the same as the questions flashed on the screen during our final coaching,” Bautista told the Senate Committee on Civil Service and Government Reorganization, headed by Sen. Rodolfo Biazon.
Pamela Ortega, also a PCHS student, confessed to Dr. Letty Kuan, a member of the Board of Nursing, that she overheard Cordero saying during the final coaching at SM Cinema in Manila that he “did not pay P7 million for nothing” in relation to the leakage.
Cordero has accused Ortega of providing the R.A. Gapuz Review Center with copies of the handwritten leakage.
The PRC has recommended administrative charges against Board of Nursing members Anesia Dioniso and Virginia Madeja for neglect of duty.
The PRC also found that Cordero was involved in the leakage.
Gordon will file a bill regulating the operation of review centers not under the Department of Trade and Industry but probably by the Commission on Higher Education.
“The nursing schools should also be the ones to conduct the review for their graduates so that they would no longer need to enroll in review centers that charge them huge sums of money,” he said.
Gordon supports the retaking of the examinations to safeguard the “credibility and integrity” of Filipino nurses and to punish those responsible for the leakage of the test questions.
FROM: The Manila Times
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/aug/18/yehey/top_stories/20060818top2.html
I'm just wandering WHY 'yun mga taga-UST hot na hot na i-nullify ang oathtaking ng mga new nurses. Di ba bago naman mai-release yung result ng NLE ay natagalan? So, sana before i-release hindi lang sila salita ng salita, AKSYON dapat ang ginawa nila like itinuro sana nila 'yung mga nakinabang. Kasi sabi sa Baguio raw meron nakinabang at sa SM Manila meron nagbigay ng leakage last June 8 & 9. Alam pala kung saan nagkaroon so, sana itinuro na lang nila kasi sa totoo lang maraming walang kasalanan nadadamay at sumasama ang image. Parang personalan na ata ang pagrereklamo nila sa PRC. Panay na ang explanations pero they still insisting kung ano gusto nila. Hindi na sila NAAWA dun sa mga totoong nagpagod at naggugol ng TIME, MONEY & EFFORT just to pass the exam. Saka dun sa 17,821 na pumasa, lahat ba yun meron leakage???
Posted by
Anonymous |
11:26 PM
TO ALL HONEST BOARD PASSERS!
U N I T E !
GET UP! STAND UP! FIGHT FOR OUR RIGHTS!
LET OUR VOICES BE HEARD!
LET JUSTICE PREVAIL!
Posted by
Anonymous |
12:17 AM
I am asking this question to all the UST College of Nursing community:DO U KNOW WHAT U R TALKING ABOUT?I can't imagine how dare you tell us that we,june 2006 NLE passers,r ol incompetent.I thnink until now,u dont the meaning of incompetent.Let's not b hypocrites here.I think u dont even know dat those accusations uve thrown to us also bounces back on u.I am also a former Tomasian,batch'99 of BS HRM.I studied nursing from 2003-2006 in another skul.Just imagine,it is d 1st time u got only 83%passing rate!Leakage,i think,is not d problem but it is ur students hu has d problem and d way u teach them.Kelangan din cguro baguhin din ng UST ang sistema ng pagkuha nyo ng nursing students at kung cno pwede isalang s board exam,gnun din ang style ng turo ng mga CI nyo.Kc ang tao matalino,maski lahat ng katabi nya may leakge,kung ngreview sya ng maayos,madali lng nya msasagot mga questions s exams.Un lng.
Posted by
Anonymous |
2:01 AM
ask UST graduates who passed the june 06 NLE if they are willing to take the exam, 2 lang sagot nila, AYAW NILA and they DONT share the sentiments of the entire UST NURSING college, and in one way or another they are being forced or coerced to join the fight for the nulification and retake of the exams
Posted by
Anonymous |
7:15 AM
SENATOR GORDON IPOKRITO KA TO THE Nth POWER! TANUNGIN MO KAYA SARILI MO KUNG BAKIT IKAW SENADOR TAPOS UNG ASAWA MO GOBERNADOR NG OLONGAPO AT KUNG ANU-ANO PA POSISYON MO AT NG ASAWA AT MGA ANAK MO! ITINATANONG PA BA YAN KUNG BAKIT SI CORDERO EH NAPAKALAKI ANG MGA POSISYON EH KAYONG MGA POLITIKO ANG NANGUNGUNA SA GANYAN. ANG KASALUKUYANG SITWASYON D2 SA PILIPINAS NA KUNG SINO ANG MAYKAYA AY SIYA ANG MAKAPANGYARIHAN!
ITANONG MO RIN YAN SA MGA NAGMAMARUNONG NA MGA NURSES NG UST DAHIL HINDI NAMAN LINGID SA KAALAMAN NILA YAN AT WALANG TUMUTOL SA KANILA NUONG INI-ELECT NILA SI CORDERO SA POSISYON NA YAN! MGA KATULAD MONG IPOKRITO NA SIGURO TUWANG-TUWA PA NUNG BOMOTO SILA PARA KAY CORDERO SA POSISYON NA YAN.
WALANG IBANG SISIHIN KUNGDI YUNG MGA NURSES NA BOMOTO AT PUMAYAG NA MAGING PRESIDENTE NG PNA SI CORDERO GAYONG ALAM NILA NA SIYA AY MAY-ARI NG NURSING SCHOOL AT REVIEW CENTER!
Posted by
Anonymous |
6:50 PM
UST???? di mahal ang mga sariling students. ang mahal lang nila ay yung cum laude nila na bumagsak sa NLE! nag rally sila sa harap ng prc pero puro hakot! freshmen, sophomores at juniors ang andun! mga naka pang duty pa! kasi nga attendance is a must daw! sigaw ng sigaw sa harap ng prc gayun namang di pa nila napag daanan ang hirap na napag daanan ng mga nag board! SA mga HAKOT mag board muna kayo bago kayo sumama sa rally! di nyo kasi alam mga pinagsisisigaw nyo!
Senator GORDON, mayaman ka kasi kaya di mo alam kung anong hirap ng mga magulang namin sa pagpapaaral sa amin! yang pulitika na lang ang asikasuhin mo, wag ka na makisawsaw pa.
Sa ABS CBN naman please lang wag kayong bias! di nyo yata alam kung ano ang responsible journalism, kaya kayo natatalo ng channel 7!
Posted by
Anonymous |
9:55 PM
ako board passer din ako, pero di ako katulad nyo na takot na takot na bumagsak sa 2nd take. hindi kami nagagalit dahil 83 lang ang passing namin, nagagalit kami dahil maraming mandaraya. at!!!! d kami nagagalit dahil may bumagsak na cum laude sa amin, kasi this isn't the first time na may bumagsak na cumlaude sa amin. pero d naman kami nagrereklamo dati. at sa isang nag comment dyan na yung students at CI pati teachers ang problema sa amin, i'm sorry but i beg to disagree. we've proven that sa previous exams. d mukhang pera ang UST di tulad ng ibang schools dyan na sobrang taas ng tuition, bobo naman mga student. para maka graduate ka lang ng UST nursing is an honor itself. gusto namin sa retake dahil ayaw namin mabagay at makasama sa industriya and mga pekeng nurses!
Posted by
Anonymous |
7:14 PM
how can you be so sure na papasa ka ulit sa retake?
naniniwala ako di lang talinoa ng kailangan sa board exam, may kasamang luck factor din yun? what if sa retake wala na ang luck?
gugustuhin mo bang bumagsak gayung pasado ka na?
Posted by
Anonymous |
12:21 AM
Kaya hindi nagreact ang UST before the results were released was because we believed that the PRC and the BoN would wait until the NBI investigation was OVER before the release of the results. Kung maraming nakakaalam na may leakage sa SM Manila noong June 8 & 9 eh bakit walang ibang school or students na nagreklamo walang umaksyon? Mahirap magturo ng walang sapat ng ebidensya. Personal? OO, personal talaga ang issue na to sa maraming tao, hindi lang sa 17,821 students kung hindi sa families, communities, nurses at mga Pilipino sa buong mundo. Walang kaso kung saan tayo nag-aral, ang Nursing ay parepareho sa bawat sulok ng mundo. Lahat ng nag-aaral ng Narsing alam na mahirap talaga magmemorya ng lab results, umintindi ng pathophysio, magpuyat, magduty, lahat mahirap. Lahat tayo, all 42 thousand people who took the boards naginvest ng time, money at effort. Pati mga pamilya natin na gusto nating ma-ahon sa hirap mag invest rin! the College has never said the 17 thousand who passed were ALL incompetent! Oo, masakit na 83% lang passing namin. Hindi na dapat magrereact ang college namin the day after the results came. They only reacted when the issue of the leakage came out. hindi naman namemeasure ang FULL competence ng isang tao sa NLE eh. 500 questions, walang skills testing. The board only screens the people who have basic knowledge qualifications on being nurses. Ikaw na Honest, alam natin na competent ka, alam mo sa sarili mo na competent ka pero can you really speak for all those who passed? Hindi lahat may leakage, yes.. pero mayroong mayron. Can you guarantee the patients that they will receive GOOD, Quality Nursing Care from ALL the 17,821 passers? Can you bet your license, your life and your loved ones' lives on ALL of the passers in the light of this issue, with all the evidence presented? Walang gusto ng away. Marami satin gusto na lang matapos itong issue na ito para makapagtrabaho na. Sana makapagusap ng maayos sa tamang paraan lahat ng mga involved.
Posted by
Anonymous |
8:50 PM
RETAKING I SSUCH A VISCOUS WAY OF ANSWERING THIS MEGALOBLASTIC PROBELM. ANG HIRAP SABIHIN NA MAGRETAKE. PERO ETO ANG TAMANG GAWIN. ANG TAMA, KAHIT MAHIRAP, TAMA PA DIN. IF WE PASSED THE PASTE EXAM KAHIT DAYAIN TAYO, WE CAN PASS THIS AGAIN (WITH ADDITIONAL DIGNITY THAN ALL THE EXAMS ADDED.) DONT BLAME UST FOR THE INCOMPETENCE OF PRC. UST STOOD FOR THE TRUTH. THIS ISSUE HUMILIATED US (PASSERS) IN WAYS MORE THAN WE COULD IMAGINE. BUT AMIDST THIS, UST STOOD(NOT JUST FOR UST STUDENTS) BUT FOR ALL OF US. HUMAN NATURE TELLS US THAT AYAW NA NATIN MAG RETAKE. PERO DEEP IN US, SOMETHING TELLS US NA DAPAT MAY GAWIN TAYO. AND IF THAT IS TO RETAKE THE EXAM, THEN LETS RETAKE IT. PROVIDED LAHAT TAYO. I WILL FALL DOWN WITH MY ALMA MATER...
Posted by
Anonymous |
9:22 PM
mas mabuti ng bumagsak kesa pumasa na questionable ang mga licenses...
oo nga may luck factor din pero hindi lang dapat iasa sa luck factor
sa sarili nyo wala kayong leakage, pero sigurado ba kayong lahat e wala? kung gus2 nyong i-risk ang buhay ng pamilya ninyo sa isang passer na d deserving pumasa, e d go ahead... sino ba ang magiging recipeints ng care nila? dba mga magulang natin, relatives at close satin... hindi naman lahat e makakapag-abroard agad so sa mga sinasabi nyo e parang oki lang na MAY BAHID ang lisensya ng mag-aalaga sakanila...
mahirap sabihing mag-retake pero hindi nyo ba naisip na yun na alng ang final choice? madaming hospitals na ang hindi tumatanggap ng june 06 passer pati sa states, inaantay na lng ang move ng PRC at kapag pinalagpas nila itong issue e sino bang kawawa? ANG PRC BA? HINDI! TAYO DIN! KASALANAN ITO NG PRC... days after ng boards, may nagreklamo na tungkol sa leakage tapus after few days lalabas sila ng statement ng NO LEAKAGE? e hello? ayan na sa harap mo?
ikaw? kung gus2 mung i-risk ang buhay ng mahal mo sa buhay e d go ahead!
Posted by
Anonymous |
9:09 PM
alam mo, it is easy na talikuran ang nakikita mong pagkakamali at mahirap ang desisyon na harapin ito
nagbubulag-bulagan kayo sa nakikita ninyo
nagbibingi-bingihan kayo sa mga naririnig niyo
may mabaho sa sistema, pero hidi nyo naaamoy
ayan na ang ebidensya... sinasampal na kayo ng ebidensya... pero anong ginagawa ninyo? puro kayo reklamo!
wala kayong ginagawa para mailabas ang katotohanan... para maparusahan ang mga may sala...
Posted by
Anonymous |
9:15 PM