Palace hoping CA ruling will end nursing controversy
MALACAÑANG is hoping that a Court of Appeals ruling allowing the oath-taking of the nursing board passers can lead to a final resolution of the issue, a senior official said Friday.
But at the same time, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said a final report on who should retake the exams could still change the complexion of the case.
"They have to follow what the Court of Appeals [had] ordered. Of course, we are going by the rule of law all the time, but you will notice that] there is a caveat that says that in the event that the final report determines who should undergo a retake of the exams because they attended the final sessions of the review centers [the source of the leakage], then there's still a recourse," Ermita told reporters at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) after seeing off President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who went to China for a week-long state visit.
Last October 13, the court ruled that those who had passed the board exams before the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) recomputed the scores following the discovery of a leakage in some portions of the test could take their oaths.
This meant the reinstatement of 1,186 examinees whose names were removed following the recomputation.
The court also ordered a retake of Tests 3 (medical-surgical nursing) and 5 (psychiatric nursing) for the 1,687 examinees who were added to the list of passers after scores were recomputed.
But on October 16, Malacañang stopped the oath-taking, saying it was not yet final and executory.
The appellate court reached a decision on the oath-taking Thursday after conciliation talks with parties concerned.
Lira D. Fernandez
