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Saturday, October 14, 2006

Cebu passers hail CA ruling, worry about recomputed grades

Cebu passers hail CA ruling, worry about recomputed grades

By Jhunnex Napallacan, Jani Arnaiz
Inquirer
Last updated 07:52pm (Mla time) 10/14/2006

CEBU CITY -- While most of the passers of the nursing licensure board welcomed the Court of Appeals ruling for a partial retake of the nursing board examination, some are worried about the nullification of the recomputation of the scores.

Chulou Penales, 10th placer in the June examinations and president of the group Tanan (Tapoktapok sa Nagkahiusang Nurses Batok sa Retake), said they were very happy with the CA decision.

"For us, this is the most justifiable decision, to spare the innocents from the retake," Penales said.

Cebu, along with other provinces in the Visayas, has been asking the government to exempt the Visayas and Mindanao from the proposed retake of the nursing licensure examinations.

But Penales said they have yet to see how many of the board passers in Cebu would be affected by the nullification of the recomputation, which had added 1.1 percent to the grades of the examinees.

If the examinees' rating falls below 75, after the 1.1 percent is deducted, then they have to take the examination again, he said.

There are 1,723 board passers in Cebu.

Penales said their group might help generate funds for and provide whatever support to those who have to retake the examination.

Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) 7 acting director Dan Malayang said there are board passers in Cebu who will be affected.

Malayang confirmed that because of the recomputation of the scores, the PRC gave some examinees additional points, which enabled them to attain the 75 rating.

In Maasin City, the parents of nursing graduates who passed the licensure examination were also pleased with the CA ruling but they also ruled out any retake for their children.

Aurora Salazar, whose daughter graduated from the Cebu Normal University, said she would rather have her daughter review for the United States National Council Licensure Examinations for nurses, which does not require a Philippine license.

Another mother of nursing board passer echoed this sentiment.

"My daughter, who is in Cebu reviewing for the NCLEX, called me this morning to tell me how happy she was when she knew (about) the CA ruling," said Joy Arnaiz, who could not hide her relief over the CA order for the immediate oath taking for passers outside of Manila and Baguio.
At least 10 nursing graduates from Maasin passed the controversial nursing board.

Posted by brewed at 9:08 PM | | Comments

Brion won’t make recommendation on nurses issue -- spokesman

Brion won’t make recommendation on nurses issue -- spokesman

By Jerome Aning
Inquirer
Last updated 07:36pm (Mla time) 10/14/2006

FOLLOWING the Court of Appeals ruling on the nursing exam leakage, Labor Secretary Arturo Brion will no longer issue a report on his recommendations for a retake.

Jay Julian, director of labor department's information and publication service, said Brion "would heed the CA decision" which ordered a partial retake of the exams for those who had initially flunked the exams but got passing grades after the Professional Regulatory Commission re-computed test results to discount the effect of the alleged cheating in two subjects.

Brion's report, which was to be presented to the President this weekend, would have been the basis of the administrative order that Malacañang planned to issue on Monday regarding the retake had the Court of Appeals not issued its ruling..

The secretary had openly advocated a retest, for all examiners nationwide,e of the parts of the exam allegedly involved in the leakage of test questions and answers. The PRC on the other hand maintained that no retake was needed because the grades had been recalculated.

Posted by brewed at 9:06 PM | | Comments

DOJ to NBI: Find examinees who gained from nurse test leaks

DOJ to NBI: Find examinees who gained from nurse test leaks

By Armand Nocum
Inquirer
Last updated 06:25pm (Mla time) 10/14/2006

JUSTICE Secretary Raul Gonzalez has ordered the NBI to start unmasking nursing examinees who benefited from the test question leakage even as he said the President is not likely to order a national retake out of respect for the Court of Appeals’ decision.

In a telephone interview with the Inquirer, Gonzalez said that in places where it would be hard to prove how many nursing examinees benefited from the leakage -- such as what allegedly happened in Baguio -- then the whole area may be subjected to a retake Tests III and V, the subjects covered by the alleged leak of test questions and answers.

"I don't think the President will defy the CA decision now because the President has always been observing the court's decisions; even if it is a bitter pill for her to take, she accepts it,'' Gonzalez said.

According to him, the President only proposed the national retake because some Cabinet men had warned her about the effects of the leakage on Filipino professionals abroad and because of reports that the leakage had reached the Visayas and Mindanao.

"Now that the report of the nationwide leakage has been debunked by the National Bureau of Investigation, I'm sure the President will decide on the basis of the NBI report. The President always relies on the NBI report,'' he said.

Gonzalez said it was now up to the NBI and the Philippine Regulation Commission to already start implementing the CA order.

In its ruling on Friday, the court said all nurses who passed the June licensure exam should be allowed to take their oaths and be professional licenses. However it required 1,687 nurses -- those who initially got failing grades but were given passing marks after the PRC recomputed examination results ostensibly to discount the effect of leaked test questions and answers -- to retake Tests III and V.

It restored to the roster of passers 1,186 examinees who had initially passed the exams but ended up with failing grades as a result of the re-computation.

The court also ruled that examinees who actually benefited from the leakage should also be made to retake the tests but left it to the executive department to identify them and apply the appropriate sanctions.

To implement the CA's decision, Gonzalez said he has ordered the NBI to get the list of examinees who took review courses at three review centers that the authorities had earlier identified as the ones who received the leaked material -- R.A. Gapuz Review Center, Inress Review Center, and Pentagon Review Specialist Inc. -- and those who attended the final coaching sessions where the leaked materials were supposedly distributed.

"That is what should be done now. We should already implement the CA decision,'' he said. "Once we identify these examinees -- whether they passed or failed -- they should retake. They must retake, that is the order of the CA. If they reviewed there, they should retake because the presumption is they cheated.''

According to him, the NBI will subpoena the list of those who took the final coaching sessions in the three review centers. He said there is a list because those who attended the final review paid for their attendance.

As for Baguio, he said there might be a retake for all of the examinees and those found to have distributed leaked materials will criminally charged.

Posted by brewed at 9:03 PM | | Comments

Nurses’ alliance welcomes CA decision

Nurses’ alliance welcomes CA decision

By Juliet Labog-Javellana
Inquirer
Last updated 05:52pm (Mla time) 10/14/2006

THE Alliance of New Nurses (ANN) on Saturday hailed the decision of the Court of Appeals allowing some 16,000 of them to take their oaths and receive the license to practice their profession, and expressed hope that other parties would not prolong their agony and contest the decision in the Supreme Court.

"Our group is happy with the decision. At least the 16,000 of us can move on," Renato Aquino Jr., president of the organization formed by the board passers, told the Inquirer in a phone interview.

"We also appeal to the other party not to elevate this to the Supreme Court. We want to move on and put a closure to [this controversy]."

But while it was a victory for those who passed, “we are sad for the 1,600 of us who will have to retake” portions of the exam affected by the leakage, Aquino said.

He said that as of Saturday, their "preliminary consensus'' was no longer to appeal for the 1,687 who the court ruled should retake Tests III and V because an appeal could drag on.

"We are still consulting some people but some of (the 1,687) might decide to just have a retake this December so that they can also move on,'' Aquino said. He also appealed to the Professional Regulation Commission not to push through with its decision to publish the names of the 1,687 who would be asked to do a retake in newspapers. He said the list should just be posted in the PRC premises.

Aquino said the ANN members will hold a thanksgiving Mass and a prayer vigil "so that this will no longer go to the Supreme Court.''

Commission on Filipinos Overseas Chair Dante Ang, one of the petitioners who asked the appellate court to order a retake by all examinees, said he was consulting his lawyers on whether to appeal the ruling.

"I respect the decision of the Court of Appeals. However, I find the need for some questions to be clarified. But despite my reservations, I hope the decision of the CA could bring closure to this issue and I hope this decision will restore the integrity of the (professional licensure) system,'' Ang said in a phone interview.

Ang, president of the presidential task force lobbying to make the Philippines a testing site for the US National Council Licensure Examinations, had questioned the decision of the PRC to recompute the grades after invalidating some questions in the two subjects affected by the leakage, which he said perpetuated mediocrity.

He said the PRC gave a 2 percent bonus, thus allowing those who originally got failing grades of, for example, 73 percent to pass with a grade of 75 percent. Ang said the solution employed by the PRC was "questionable and incredible.''

The court struck down the PRC’s recomputation, which in effect not only increased the grades of some examinees but also lowered the grades of others to the point of failing them.

As a result of the recomputation, 1,687 examinees who had originally failed got a boost and obtained passing grades. These are the ones who the court said must retake the exams. Another group of 1,200 who initially passed the exams got failing grades after the recomputation, and were ordered by the court to be restored to the roster of passers.

The court left it to the executive department to determine who of the examinees benefited from the leakage of test questions and answers and what measures to take in dealing with them.

Posted by brewed at 9:00 PM | | Comments

Court of Appeals orders selective nursing retest

Court of Appeals orders selective nursing retest
spacer

http://www.mb.com.ph/MAIN2006101476983.html


The Court of Appeals (CA) nullified yesterday a resolution of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) voiding 20 items in Test III and recomputing the scores in Test V in the scandal-ridden Nursing Licensure Examination last June.

Among the court’s specific orders is "a selective re-taking in Test III and V among 1,687 examinees whose names were merely added to the unaltered list of 41.24 per cent successful examinees."

The court also ordered the immediate oath-taking and issuance of licenses to the 41.24 percent of examinees who originally passed the tests, including the 1,186 examinees who actually passed, but whose names were excluded as a result of the invalidation and recomputation of their scores.

Of the 42,006 nursing graduates who took the last June 11 and 12 nursing examination, only 17,821 passed, the PRC said.

Associate Justice Vicente S.E. Veloso penned the decision that was concurred in by Presiding Justice Ruben T. Reyes and Associate Justice Juan Q. Enriquez Jr.

The decision granted the petitions and petition-in-intervention filed by the University of Santo Tomas College of Nursing Faculty Association, the League of Concerned Nurses, the Binuklod na Samahan ng mga Student Nurses, and the Presidential Task Force on National Licensure Examination, headed by Dante A. Ang.

Named respondents were the PRC and the Board of Nursing.

The CA ruled:

" Wherefore, the petition is granted declaring Resolution No. 31, Series of 2006 as null and void, a writ of prohibition is hereby issued permanently enjoining the respondents from implementing the said resolution. Granting further the incidental reliefs required under the premises, and respondents are hereby directed:

"1. to conduct a selective re-taking in Test III and V among the 1,687 examinees whose names were merely added to the unaltered list of 41.24 per cent successful examinees;

"2. to restore the names of the 1,186 successful examinees and include them again in the list of 41.24 per cent who actually passed the June 11 and 12, 2006 Nursing Licensure Examination (NLE);

"3. to cause the oathtaking and issuance of licenses to all the 41.24 per cent successful examinees as herein reconstituted.

"This disquisition is without prejudice to respondents’ and the Executive Branch’s revoking the licenses issued to examinees who may eventually be identified as among those who attended the final coaching sessions at Gapuz, Inress, and Pentagon Review centers."

http://www.mb.com.ph/MAIN2006101476983.html

The CA, however, denied the petitioners’ plea for a wholesale retaking of Test III and V to protect and maintain the integrity of the NLE.

"In sum, it is our view that while the petitioners and intervenors deserve the writ of prohibition insofar as concerns Resolution No. 31, they, however, are not entitled to the relief of a wholesale retaking of Tests III and V of the June 2006 Nursing Licensure Examination," the CA stressed.

In nullifying Resolution No. 31, the CA noted that the PRC and Board of Nursing admitted in its memorandum that "usual telltale signs of cheating or benefit obtained from the leakage were not at all visible."

The CA added that the "whereas" clauses in Resolution No. 31 indicated that there is no need to wholly invalidate 20 questions of Test III and to tone down the weight of Test V from 20 percent to 10 percent.

"There was no need for the respondents to ignore the true results of Test III and V because as admitted by PRC and BON in their memorandum, ‘there was no usual upward pull in Tests III and V, no clustering of scores, no remarkable rise in the performance of the regional examination sites, no widespread leakage, and no preponderant evidence on who knowingly benefited from the 90 leaked questions based on the test results’," the CA stressed.

"The tests that were conducted outside of Manila and Baguio were observed by both the respondents and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to have been clean. The successful examinees thereat are therefore entitled to an immediate oath taking and license," the appellate court added

The CA said the PRC and Board of Nursing (BON) committed grave abuse of discretion when it issued Resolution No. 31 increasing the passing rate of the June 11, and 12, 2006 examinations from 41.24 percent to 42.42 percent.

"Such increase of 1.18 percent which benefited 1,687 examinees who actually failed (as their names did not appear in the unaltered results) but who resultantly passed when the Ibe Formula was introduced, constitutes a clear case of grave abuse of discretion," the decision stated.

But the CA noted the application of the said formula also resulted in the dropping of 1,186 new nurses from the list of successful examinees.

"Indeed the act of failing 1,186 examinees who actually passed in the June 11 and June 12, 2006 examination is a serious, if not gravest abuse of discretion one can imagine," the CA said.

The CA likewise branded as "whimsical and capricious" the issuance of the said resolution as it allowed the 1,687 examinees to pass "without satisfying" the standards set by the Nursing Act of 2002 on how examinees may be rated in a licensure examination.

It, however, agreed with the NBI’s findings that there were examinees who attended the "final coaching session" of Gapuz, Inress and Pentagon before the NLE who may have benefited from the leakage.

But it stressed that only the examinees who may be identified later by the NBI or PRC and BON to have attended the final coaching should be penalized with retaking Tests III and V.

On the other hand, the CA said those who did not review and those who reviewed but did not attend the final coaching session of the said review centers should be allowed to take their oath and be given their licenses.

http://www.mb.com.ph/MAIN2006101476983.html

Posted by Anonymous at 4:40 PM | | Comments

Editorials: Conjectures and the ‘retake’

Editorials: Conjectures and the ‘retake’

The decision on whether or not to order the 2006 nursing board examinees to retake the tests is much too sensitive and controversial to be left in the hands of flip-flopping and unenlightened officials

Malacañang's decision to order the June 2006 examinees to retake the nursing board exams stands on two legs: that the leak of some test answers was widespread and employers abroad have lost confidence in the country's nurses.

When Malacañang arrived at that decision earlier, those arguments were mere hunches, meaning, they needed verification to be acceptable.

Now the first leg has been crippled after the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) released the result of its investigation on the board exam fiasco and concluded that the leak involved only a few review centers in Luzon and only to portions of the tests.
Which is but a small percentage of the number of examinees nationwide.

Nurses’ image abroad

Meanwhile, Malacañang has not come up with a decent enough effort to solidify the basis of the claim about the negative effect of the controversy on the image of the country's nurses abroad.

Thus, unlike the insinuation that the spread of the leak was probably massive, which was proven false, Malacañang can't be conclusive in its theory that employers abroad will no longer hire Filipino nurses because they cheat in licensure exams.

NBI’s findings

Worse, even with the NBI proving them wrong about the extent of the cheating, some Malacañang functionaries like Dante Ang and Ricardo Saludo continue to peddle tales of unseen nursing board exam ghosts.

They are insisting on faulty comparisons---from cheating in the classroom to the erroneous printing of peso bills---and even expressed doubts or downplayed the significance of NBI’s findings.

On the other hand, they are cold to information contradicting their theories about the bad effects of the leakage issue on the image of our nurses abroad.

Sensitive, controversial

This actuation should impact negatively on people’s assessment of the decision-making process in Malacañang, what with the officials relying more on conjectures rather than on hard facts.

Indeed, the decision on whether or not to order the 2006 nursing board examinees to retake the tests is much too sensitive and controversial to be left in the hands of flip-flopping and unenlightened officials.

Posted by sweet_periwinkle at 11:00 AM | | Comments

CA allows oath-taking of nursing exam passers

CA allows oath-taking of nursing exam passers
By Jose Rodel Clapano
The Philippine Star 10/14/2006

http://www.philstar.com/philstar/News200610140401.htm

Most of the over 17,000 examinees who passed the leakage-tainted nursing licensure exams in June may now take their oaths as nurses because they did not appear to have benefited from the leakage, the Court of Appeals (CA) ruled yesterday.

The appellate court’s first division ordered the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) to swear in the new nurses, almost two months after a restraining order from the tribunal stopped the oath-taking.

"In an attempt to flush out the poison brought about by the leakage, the respondents treated all the examinees as if they all profited from the leakage. This should never be countenanced," the CA said.

However, the CA ruled that 1,687 who passed the licensure examinations will have to retake the two portions of the five-part examination — tests III and V — where questions were leaked to examinees because the court believed they shouldn’t have passed.

Nearly 1,200 examinees who were initially among those who passed — but were later given failing scores by the PRC after it recomputed the licensure examination’s overall scores to negate the outcome of the leakage — may also join the over 17,000 who will be sworn in.

Malacañang praised the court decision. President Arroyo initially rejected calls for new exams, saying it would be unfair to those who did not cheat and passed.

She later made a turnaround and ordered a retake, only to change her mind and await a recommendation from Labor Secretary Arturo Brion, whom she had tasked to make a review after the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) had concluded its investigation.

In a 33-page ruling penned by Associate Justice Vicente Veloso, the CA’s first division conceded that questions from tests 3 and 5 were leaked to at least three review centers — Gapuz Review Center Inc., Inress Review Center Inc. and Pentagon Specialists Inc.

"As a result, respondents (PRC and its Board of Nursing), upon advice of experts, invalidated 20 questions in test 3 and credited the remaining 80 questions thereof with 100 points. For test 5, the respondents toned down its weight from 20 percent to 10 percent. The purpose, according to them, is to remove whatever advantage some examinees may have gained from the leakage," the ruling stated.

However, because of the recomputed scores, 1,687 examinees who initially failed got a boost and passed while 1,200 others who passed got failing scores.

"They recomputed the grades and came up with an increased passing percentage... from 41.24 percent 42.42 percent (of the over 42,000 who took the exam in June)," the CA said.

However, the appellate court took note of a resolution issued by the nursing board shortly after the leakage was discovered.

In its Resolution No. 31, the nursing board stated there were indications that the leakage was not widespread and was not of much use to the examinees.

The board found that the leaked questions were simply too many and were given only two days before examination day to nursing graduates who were most likely already overloaded from the reviewing.

Further, the actual test questions did not follow the order of the leaked questions "because of internal PRC security control measures."

The CA also cited the nursing board’s other findings.

"Such prefatory (whereas) clauses therefore inform us of the lack of need to wholly invalidate 20 questions of test 3 and to tone down the weight of test 5 from 20 percent to 10 percent (in computing the overall score). There was no need for the respondents to ignore the true results of tests 3 and 5 because as admitted by PRC and Board of Nursing in their memorandum: there was no unusual upward pull in tests 3 and 5, no clustering of scores, no remarkable rise in the performance of the regional examination sites, no widespread leakage and no preponderant evidence on who knowingly benefited from the 90 leaked questions based on the test results," the court ruling stated.

With that, the court said the PRC committed a grave abuse of discretion in recomputing the overall scores.

http://www.philstar.com/philstar/News200610140401.htm

"Grave abuse of discretion implies a capricious and whimsical exercise of judgment that (is) tantamount to lack of jurisdiction. In this case, respondents’ acts of invalidating 20 questions in test 3 and recomputing the scores in test 5 indubitably constitute, therefore, grave abuse of discretion. If despite the leakage, the test results could still form a reliable basis for determining competency, reason dictates that the results, as they were, should have been respected by respondents. We thus find respondents’ employed scheme... illogical, arbitrary and patently erroneous."

Because of Resolution No. 31, about 1.18 percent or 1,687 examinees benefited from the recomputation and passed and nearly 1,200 who were among those who passed got failing marks.

"Such increase of 1.18 percent which benefited 1,687 examinees who actually failed, as their names did not appear in the unaltered results, but who resultantly passed when the Ibe Formula (used in the recomputation) was introduced, constitutes a clear case of grave abuse of discretion," the court stated.
‘Whimsical’
"It is whimsical and capricious as said 1,687 examinees were allowed to pass without their satisfying the standards set by the Nursing Act of 2002 on how examinees may be rated in a licensure examination," it said.

The PRC likewise "gravely abused its discretion" in flunking the 1,186 who had initially passed, the CA said.

"To emphasize, said list of 42.42 percent successful examinees no longer carried their names. Indeed, the act of failing 1,186 examinees who actually passed in the June 11 and 12, 2006 examination is a serious, if not gravest abuse of discretion one can imagine. Yet again, sans preponderant evidence on those examinees who particularly benefited from the leak, there clearly would be no basis for applying a unified formula of de-evaluating the scores of all examinees," the CA said.

The court added that the equal protection clause under the Constitution means that "no person or class of persons shall be deprived of the same protection of laws which is enjoyed by other persons or other classes in the same place and in like circumstances."

It emphasized that ordering a retake would not only be too costly for the government, but it would be costlier for the examinees who hardly have the financial means for another examination.

"Besides, the challenged nursing licensure examination is not supposed to address problems on credibility," it said.

The court order stemmed from a petition filed in August by faculty members of the University of Santo Tomas and two nursing associations, the League of Concerned Nurses and the Binuklod na Samahan ng mga Student Nurse.

They said the PRC and the nursing board should protect the integrity and competence of the profession "by ensuring that only those who have qualified in appropriate examinations are allowed into the profession."

Malacañang hailed the ruling. "It is a vindication of the Palace position," presidential chief of staff Michael Defensor said. "We have been saying from the start that we have to wait for the final and conclusive report of the NBI."

Defensor said a decision on the leakage "has to be based on facts and evidence. It will not only strengthen and validate Palace position but this will also be fair to all those concerned."

Last Wednesday, the NBI bared that the leakage was limited only in Baguio City and Manila. The probe also found 17 officials of three review centers suspected of involvement.

The Department of Labor and Employment, which has supervision over the PRC, will decide on the issue. — With Aurea Calica

http://www.philstar.com/philstar/News200610140401.htm

Posted by Anonymous at 12:41 AM | | Comments

Friday, October 13, 2006

CA: ‘Selective retake’ of nursing board exam 17,322 allowed to take oath

By Tetch Torres
INQ7.net
Last updated 07:15pm (Mla time) 10/13/2006

(UPDATE) A “SELECTIVE retake” of the nursing licensure exam last June has been ordered by the Court of Appeals since “there was no evidence showing that there was widespread leakage.”

At the same time, the appellate court has allowed 17, 322 successful examinees to take their oath.

In a 33-page decision penned by Associate Justice Vicente Veloso, the court said 1, 687 examinees would retake tests 3 and 5, which the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), by virtue of Resolution 31, invalidated due to reports that questions in those tests had been leaked.

The resolution had also paved the way for a recomputation of the scores, which resulted in the passing of an additional 1, 687 board takers but the removal of 1, 186 names from the original list of successful examinees.

But in its ruling released Friday, the court nullified Resolution 31, which meant that the 1, 687 who passed after the recomputation would have to retake the exam while the 1, 186 who had been removed would be reinstated.

The Court of Appeals said Resolution 31 violated Republic Act 9173 or the Philippine Nursing Act of 2002, which prescribes the means by which one may pass the Nursing examination and consequently be admitted into the nursing practice.

“In this case, respondents' acts of invalidating 20 questions in Test 3 and recomputing the scores in Test 5 indubitably constitute, therefore, grave abuse of discretion,” the court said.

“If despite the leakage, the test results could still form a reliable basis for determining competency, reason dictates that the results as they were, should have been respected by respondents. We thus find respondents' employed scheme...illogical, arbitrary and patently erroneous,” the court said.

“Worse is, in adopting Resolution 31, the respondents increased the passing rate of the June 11 and 12, 2006 examinations from 41.24 percent to 42.42 percent,” the court said.

“Such increase of 1.18 percent, which benefited 1,687 examinees who actually failed [as their names did not appear in the 'unaltered' results] but who resultantly passed when the formula was introduced, constitutes a clear case of grave abuse of discretion. It is whimsical and capricious as said 1,687 examinees were allowed to pass without their satisfying the standards set by the Nursing Act of 2002 on how examinees may be rated in a licensure examination,” the court said.

"The act of failing 1,186 examinees who actually passed in the June 11 and 12, 2006 examination is a serious, if not gravest abuse of discretion one can imagine," the court said.
But the Court of Appeals said that there was no evidence showing widespread leakage.

"Having found, based on unrefuted evidence, that there was no widespread leakage, and absent any preponderant evidence on who specifically benefited therefrom, a ‘retake’ will be too drastic a pill for the examinees to absorb," the court said.

The court also noted that “only the examinees that may be identified by the National Bureau of Investigation to have attended the final coaching at Gapuz, Inress and Pentagon, were to be penalized with a retaking of tests 3 and 5.

The three review centers have been identified by the NBI as having been allegedly involved in the leakage.

Rene Luis Tadle from the University of Santo Tomas’ College of Nursing, the League of Concerned Nurses, and other groups had sought the invalidation of Resolution 31 while Dante Ang, the presidential adviser on migrant workers had petitioned for a retake for tests 3 and 5.

On Thursday, the NBI filed a criminal complaint before the Department of Justice against 17
executives of the R.A. Gapuz Review Center, Inress Review Center, and the Pentagon Review Center.

The NBI however spared the examinees, saying it was “practically impossible” to determine whether any one of them had benefited from the purported leak.

The DoJ will form a five-man panel to conduct a preliminary investigation, Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño had said.

Posted by brewed at 10:04 PM | | Comments

Palace tells PRC chief to shut up on nursing board fiasco

Palace tells PRC chief to shut up on nursing board fiasco


By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
INQ7.net
Last updated 06:16pm (Mla time) 10/13/2006


A SENIOR Palace official on Friday told the chair of the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) to stop issuing statements that run counter to the administration’s position on the June 2006 nursing licensure examination scandal.

"I think the more prudent action is to really keep quiet and just wait for the decision (of the National Bureau of Investigation or NBI, and Department of Labor and Employment or DoLE)," Presidential Chief of Staff Michael Defensor said when asked what President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo intended to do about PRC chair Leonor Tripon-Rosero.

Defensor’s statement came just as the Court of Appeals ruled that more than 1,000 examinees should be given a retake of tests 3 and 5 of the nursing board.

Rosero has been adamant in her stand against a retake of the licensure exam, which was tainted by leaked questions to tests 3 and 5.

Most recently, she vowed to administer the oath to board passers once a temporary restraining order handed down by the appellate court lapses on October 18.

Arroyo had earlier ordered the DoLE to recommend a decision on whether or not a retake of the nursing board is needed.

Asked if Arroyo planned to suspend or gag Rosero, who is also her dentist, Defensor said, "You don't really need actions that can be more destructive to the administration,” although he added that any such decision “is the prerogative of the President.”

Nevertheless, he said :“As a member of Cabinet and (one) of those who witnessed the discussions that we…had, I feel chairman Rosero has been unfair.”

Asked if Rosero still enjoyed the President’s confidence, Defensor said Arroyo values “loyalty, effectiveness and efficiency” and that whatever her decision on the PRC head would be “nothing personal.”

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita earlier said that since Arroyo issued an executive order placing the PRC under the control and supervision of the DoLE, Rosero’s fate now lies with the department.

Posted by sweet_periwinkle at 8:46 PM | | Comments

Palace aide says CA decision ‘fair’

Palace aide says CA decision ‘fair’

By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
INQ7.net
Last updated 06:34pm (Mla time) 10/13/2006

http://newsinfo.inq7.net/breakingnews/nation/view_article.php?article_id=26549

PRESIDENTIAL Chief of Staff Michael Defensor described the Court of Appeals ruling
for a selective retake of the leak-tainted June nursing licensure examinations for more than a thousand nursing graduates as "fair" to all.

"I think that’s fair. For example, in Cebu, there was no evidence (of cheating) according to the report of the National Bureau of Investigation,” Defensor told GMA Network’s station dzBB.

He said the decision came just as the Department of Labor is firming up its decision on whether or not to order a retake of the nursing board exam.
In a 33-page decision penned by Associate Justice Vicente Veloso, the appellate court said 1,687 examinees should retake tests 3 and 5 of the nursing board exam, which the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) invalidated because questions to these portions had been leaked to examinees.

The decision also allowed 17,322 board passers to take their oath as nurses.

The NBI submitted its report to Malacañang on Wednesday.

Its findings showed that the leak of questions to tests 3 and 5 of the nursing board exam took place only in Metro Manila and Baguio City.

The NBI also recommended the filing of charges against 17 officials of three review centers.

http://newsinfo.inq7.net/breakingnews/nation/view_article.php?article_id=26549

Posted by Anonymous at 8:44 PM | | Comments

CA orders selective retake of nursing board

CA orders selective retake of nursing board
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/topofthehour.aspx?StoryId=53158


The Court of Appeals on Friday ordered 1,687 nursing board examinees to retake tests 3 and 5 of the 2006 Nursing Licensure Examination that was marred by leakage.

The appellate court said the 1,687 benefited from the recomputation of the grades of the nursing board results, which were nullified by the court.

The court also ordered the Professional Regulation Commission to include 1,186 examinees that were removed from the list of board passers after the recomputation of grades.

The court said board passers on the original PRC list can take their oaths and get their nursing licenses.

It added, however, that the licenses can be revoked if investigators prove that a nursing board passer benefited from the leakage.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/topofthehour.aspx?StoryId=53158

Posted by Budek at 6:13 PM | | Comments

CA orders ‘selective retake’ of nursing board exam

CA orders ‘selective retake’ of nursing board exam
http://newsinfo.inq7.net/breakingnews/nation/view_article.php?article_id=26540

By Tetch Torres
INQ7.net
Last updated 04:26pm (Mla time) 10/13/2006


THE SPECIAL Division of the Court of Appeals has ordered a “selective retake” of tests 3 and 5 of the nursing licensure exam taken last June.

In a decision released Friday, the appellate court said the retake would involve 1,687 examinees.

The court ruling was in response to a petition by advocates for a retake, led by Dante Ang, chairman of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas.

http://newsinfo.inq7.net/breakingnews/nation/view_article.php?article_id=26540

Posted by Budek at 6:09 PM | | Comments

'Via satellite' na dayaan ng Gapuz ibinunyag

'Via satellite' na dayaan ng Gapuz ibinunyag
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryID=53102

Hinamon ng star witness sa pandaraya sa 2006 Nursing Licensure Examinations ang naunang pahayag ng National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) na Baguio at Manila napalaganap ang pandaraya sa pagsusulit.

Sinabi ni Dennis Bautista na nagkaroon umano ng isang via satellite review ang Gapuz Review Center na umabot sa Cebu at Davao.

“Ang sabi ni Ray Gapuz sa review po namin na naririnig, napapanood ng mga taga-Cebu at mga taga-Davao,” pahayag ni Bautista.

Ito ang ibinunyag ni Bautista sa panayam sa kanya sa programang "Korina Today."

Si Bautista ay isa umano sa mga nakadalo sa review ng Gapuz sa Roxas Boulevard noong Hunyo 10. Doon umano nagkaroon ng mga bilin sa mga reviewer kasama ang mga nakikinig mula sa Cebu at Davao via satellite.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryID=53102

Ang Test 5 ng nursing board exams ang dokumentong ipinamahagi ng Gapuz kay Bautista. Halos 3,000 kopya nito ang naikalat sa Baguio, ayon sa Professional Regulation Commission.

Malamang na nakuha rin umano ito ng mga estudyanteng mula Cebu at Davao na nakasama sa review.

Nitong Huwebes, kinasuhan ng NBI sa Department of Justice ang mga opisyal ng Gapuz Review Center, INRESS at Pentagon.

Sinabi rin ni Bautista na sa mga final coaching ng Pentagon sa Aliw Theatre at PICC, halos 4,000 sa dalawang shift ang dumalo at nakinabang sa mga dokumentong ipinamahagi.

“Sabi niya po ay ganito, don’t forget to pass by our offices after your first day of exam which is after June 11 exams, dumaan po kami sa mga iba-ibang review centers kung saan kami malapit at ipinamigay ang 18-page na leakage tulad ng nakita sa Baguio,” dagdag ni Bautista.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryID=53102

Posted by Budek at 10:15 AM | | Comments

Complaint filed vs 17 test review execs

Complaint filed vs 17 test review execs
http://newsinfo.inq7.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view_article.php?article_id=26429

But NBI lauds PRC for acting on leak

By Armand Nocum, Margaux Ortiz
Inquirer
Last updated 02:33am (Mla time) 10/13/2006

Published on Page A1 of the October 13, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

THE NATIONAL Bureau of Investigation yesterday filed a complaint against 17 executives of three review centers suspected of involvement in the leak of test questions in the nursing licensure examination but it said the pattern indicated that cheating had been practiced in the annual exercise for years.

The NBI named Professional Regulation Commission Chair Leonor Tripon-Rosero as the official complainant in the case for violation of provisions of Republic Act No. 8981, or the PRC Modernization Act. The complaint filed with the Department of Justice did not include the examinees who had benefited from the leak.

Those indicted were Ricarte A. Gapuz, Evangeline Gapuz, Ma. Elena Altarejos, Elizabeth G. Iciano and Eleanor Artemia Cruz of the R.A. Gapuz Review Center; George C. Cordero, Adela C. Cordero, Jerry C. Cordero, Corazon C. Sabado, Macjohn C. Fabian, Lolita C. Barlahan and Eugenia A. Alcantara of the Inress Review Center, and Gerald Andamo, lawyer Glenn Luansing, Mike Jimenes, Jerome Balisnomo and Freddie Valdez of the Pentagon Review Specialist Inc.

Earlier in the day, Rosero said of the results of the NBI inquiry: “I’m glad these things came out, but I want them to name names.

“If there are nurses among the owners of [the involved] review centers, [the PRC] can file administrative charges against them.”

Instead of charging PRC officials, the NBI lauded them for the “recomputation” that included invalidating the leaked questions in Test III and reducing the weight of the scores in Test V.

The bureau said this was “a sensible solution to downgrade the effects of the leakages.”

“If the highest officers of the [three] review centers were too daring to pull a feat such as this for the sake of their respective review schools, it is not a far-fetched idea that their co-owners had consented to such ‘modus operandi’ not only in the recent [exam] but in previous ones as well,” said the complaint signed by NBI Director Nestor Mantaring.

“If this were not the case, it is a wonder then that they had managed to stay on top against their competitors, when practically the same services are being offered by the rest,” it said.

Penalties

Under Republic Act 8981, “a person who manipulates or rigs licensure examination results, secretly informs, or makes known ... questions prior to the conduct of the examination or tampers with the grades ... shall, upon conviction, be punished by imprisonment of not less than six years and one day or up to 12 years and a fine of between P50,000 and P100,000 or both.”

If the offender is an officer or employee of the PRC or a member of the regulatory board, he/she shall be removed from office.

Accomplices may be slapped a penalty of imprisonment ranging from four to six years or a fine ranging from P20,000 to P49,000, or both.

A lesser penalty of imprisonment ranging from two to four years or a fine of from P5,000 to P19,000, or both, shall be imposed on the accessories.

http://newsinfo.inq7.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view_article.php?article_id=26429

Passers who cheated

“The allegations of leakage have tainted the integrity of the [exam], creating suspicion and doubts in its results,” the NBI said.

But it did not indict the examinees who had actively taken part in the cheating, saying that “to push for [their] prosecution” would be “not only difficult but [also] impractical.”

“This is apart from the fact that this bureau would not be willing to serve as an instrument in depriving the students of their professional advancement,” the NBI said.

It added: “They [had] not known the questions prior to the exam for they were in fact recipients of [the questions] through review materials which they still had to study and internalize. There is not much debate needed to show that the students are likewise not guilty of tampering [with the grades], for [this] is in fact not the issue in this case.”

Board of Nursing (BON) members Anesia Dionisio and Virginia Madeja and examiners of the five-part exam held on June 11 and 12 were earlier recommended to be charged for violation of RA 8981 as well as RA 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

Documentary evidence

The NBI mostly based its findings on the testimonies of some 20 witnesses, including those who undertook their reviews at the three review centers, BON and PRC employees and persons responsible for the photocopying of the leaked questions.

The documentary evidence included Dionisio’s notes on the questions and the corresponding answers, photocopies of her notes, students’ notes taken during coaching sessions given by the review centers, and a compact disc of the PowerPoint presentation made by Inress during its “final coaching” on July 9.

During that Inress session, it was reportedly claimed that 100 of 500 review questions in the psychiatric nursing test would “surely come out” in the exam. A refund of the tuition of “whoever would top” the exam was also purportedly promised.

NBI Regional Director Elfren Meneses Jr. said the investigation conducted by the bureau’s Anti-Fraud and Computer Crimes Division showed that the review centers conducted special “final briefing activities” for their clients, where the actual answers to Tests III and V were shown in a PowerPoint presentations.

Meneses said Gapuz held its final briefing in Baguio City, Inress at an SM Manila theater, and Pentagon at the Aliw Theater in Pasay City.

In conducting a comparative study of how the clients of the three review centers had fared in the exam, the NBI found that they obtained 90-97 percent scores in Tests III and V, compared to 80-90 percent for those who studied at other review centers.

An NBI analysis also found that “the ratings of Inress and Gapuz on Tests III and V show that they are relatively higher, in fact more than twice, compared to the passing percentages they obtained in the entirety of the exam.”

‘Leak in every sense’

According to the NBI, the evidence was “sufficient to establish” that the three review centers “have much to do with the proliferation of the leakage.”

It said it had “sounded off the possible criminal liability” of review center personnel who had facilitated the coaching sessions and distributed the leaked materials.

It also debunked claims that the leak consisted of “tips” that the review center executives claimed were “normal practice” to attract examinees to register.

“What actually transpired was a leakage in every sense of the word. Indeed, the review centers possessed and discussed questions with even the prescribed answers; clearly they must have too valuable material that originated from the persons who prepared the exam,” the NBI said.

On Wednesday, the NBI announced that the cheating was limited only to the cities of Metro Manila and Baguio in Luzon and covered only Tests III and V.

It said it had found no evidence to support claims that the leak had also occurred in the Visayas and Mindanao and included Tests I and II.

http://newsinfo.inq7.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view_article.php?article_id=26429

Posted by Budek at 10:14 AM | | Comments

Learn the right lessons

Learn the right lessons
http://opinion.inq7.net/inquireropinion/columns/view_article.php?article_id=26416

By Rina Jimenez-David
Inquirer
Last updated 01:28am (Mla time) 10/13/2006

Published on Page A15 of the October 13, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

SINCE there were nine of us siblings, our parents often resorted to wholesale discipline to keep order in the family. When something got broken, or an item was missing, or even when a squabble erupted among us, the younger batch (to whom I belonged) would be summoned and lined up for punishment. Regardless of individual guilt or responsibility, we would all receive the same punishment: a tongue-lashing and a quick pinch in the most sensitive part of the body.

We all felt aggrieved, of course, and blamed each other, and resented our parents for not even trying to get to the bottom of the incident. In their view, it seemed to us, it was far more convenient to mete out punishment to all the suspects equally. Not for them the adage about how it would be better to let the guilty go free rather than punish the innocent.

Maybe President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is of the same parenting school as my late parents. Maybe she thinks everyone who took the nursing board exams this year shares equal responsibility with the few who cheated and took advantage of leaked test questions to improve their chances of passing the test. And that’s why she’s “punishing” everyone by nullifying the results of the exams and requiring everyone to take the test again.

But I’m sure such wholesale punishment doesn’t sit well with the examinees, much as my parents’ brand of discipline didn’t foster unity and mutual responsibility among us siblings. It only taught us to conceal our misdemeanors better.

Protests and pickets have erupted in various parts of the country, led by exam-takers who feel they are being unjustly punished for the wrongdoing of a few cheaters.

At the same time, Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) Chair Leonor Tripon-Rosero has added her voice to the chorus of protest. It had been her position, from the beginning of this controversy, that a mere recalculation of scores by negating the questionable parts of the test was enough to undo the damage done by the leaked questions.

* * *

BUT there’s more to the leak than just test scores and the licensing of unqualified nurses.

There’s the reputation not just of Filipino nurses but of all health care professionals, and the reputation of the Philippines, particularly the reliability of our licensure processes.

http://opinion.inq7.net/inquireropinion/columns/view_article.php?article_id=26416

Labor Secretary Arturo Brion, who has been given administrative power over the PRC, says even foreign governments have aired concerns about the qualifications of Filipino health personnel. A representative of the Japanese government, he said, had expressed its concern since a recent agreement between the two governments would allow Filipino nurses and caregivers to work in Japan for the first time. Even the governments of the European Union have been asking questions, he said.

As for the United States, as reported in this column, American authorities have postponed making a decision on whether to allow the administration of a state qualifying nursing exam in the Philippines, pending the results of the investigation into the nursing test leaks. Is this likewise an indication of a lack of confidence in the skills of Filipino nurses, or at least on the capacity of the government to guarantee the integrity of nursing boards?

* * *

THERE’S a conflict here between the rights of the “honest” exam takers, who certainly don’t deserve to be punished alongside the cheaters, and the need to protect the reputation of the country’s nurses and licensing bodies. What should prevail? And should individual rights (of the examinees) be sacrificed for the sake of the national reputation?

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), which had been requested by the PRC to conduct an investigation into the leakage, has concluded its probe and named the perpetrators: 17 officials of three review centers, though no names of either officials or review centers have been released thus far.

NBI Director Nestor Mantaring has cleared PRC officials of involvement in the leak, and said the investigators found evidence of a leak only in Manila and Baguio city. He also said that “it would be very hard to pinpoint who benefited,” because some exam takers who were provided with the leaked test questions may have chosen not to take advantage of them.

But the NBI has already identified the review centers that took advantage of the leak, and it should take only a short investigative leap to determine who among the examinees had patronized these review centers and attended their review sessions. Then it should only be a matter of comparing the examinees’ performance in the questionable parts of the test with their performance in the other tests to see if they indeed used the leak to their advantage.

* * *

ADMITTEDLY, this would take a lot more time and effort, and Malacañang has already said it wanted to wrap up the matter as soon as possible.

But determining who cheated and who did not is not just a matter of determining who should retake the test and who won’t have to. It’s also a matter of basic justice, of punishing the guilty and letting go -- or in this case, licensing -- the innocent.

It also seems to me a fair solution to the conflicting claims of the innocent exam-takers and those concerned about the reputation of Filipino nurses and the state of nursing education here.

Certainly, let’s go after the review centers and their owners and officials who paid for the leaked questions and passed these on to their students. Let’s also identify who these students are and require them to take the nursing board exam all over again, if only to determine if they are indeed qualified to work as nurses. But let’s also not punish those who studied for the exam and relied on their own intellect, memory and experience to get a passing grade.

Let’s make sure everyone learns the right lesson this time.
http://opinion.inq7.net/inquireropinion/columns/view_article.php?article_id=26416

Posted by Budek at 10:09 AM | | Comments

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Of Pride and Integrity

Of Pride and Integrity

by sweetnez168@yahoo.com


SOMEHOW I UNDERSTAND HOW MR TADLE COULD ACT AND SPEAK THE WAY HE DOES… HE IS NOT A NURSE. HE DOES NOT KNOW NURSING.


AS FOR THE NURSE GRADUATES OF UST AND THOSE WHO WANT A RETAKE I AM DISMAYED BY THEIR ACTIONS AND THE LOGIC THEY HAVE ADAPTED TO JUSTIFY THEIR ACTIONS.


UST HAS A PROUD HISTORY. OTHER SCHOOLS LIKE UP CLAIM TO HAVE THAT TOO.


HOWEVER, NURSING DOES NOT SHARE THAT PRIDE.


NURSING HAS A HUMBLE HISTORY. THERE WAS EVEN A POINT IN TIME WHEN ONLY WHORES AND OUTCASTS TOOK TO THE ROLE OF NURSING. SO WHERE DO YOU PUT PRIDE IN THIS PICTURE? WHERE DO YOU EVEN PUT INTEGRITY?


TODAY, THERE ARE NEITHER WHORES NOR OUTCASTS, STILL NURSING IS PERCIEVED AS A “DIRTY” JOB. IT MAY PAY WELL, ESPECIALLY IN 1ST WORLD COUNTRIES, BUT CITIZENS OF THESE COUNTRIES RARELY TAKE IT UP AS A CAREER PATH FOR THEM AND THAT IS WHY THEY HIRE NURSES FROM OTHER COUNTRIES.


SO TELL ME…SINCE WHEN WERE NURSES PUT ON A PEDESTAL? WE ARE ANGELS IN THE SICK ROOM. WE ARE SERVANTS. INTEGRITY MAY NOT BE THE LEAST OF OUR CONCERNS BUT IT IS NOT WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT EITHER.


INTEGRITY IS NOT THE ESSENCE OF NURSING JUST AS MUCH AS KEEPING OUR UNIFORMS CLEAN IS NOT A MAIN CONCERN IN CARING FOR PATEINTS.


I ADMIRE THE COURAGE AND CANDOR OF THOSE WHO WANT A RETAKE BUT I AM SADDENED BY THEIR LACK OF COMPASSION.


FOR THAT, I AM ALSO AFRAID OF THE KIND OF NURSES THEY WILL BE.


FOR INTEGRITY’S SAKE WILL THEY COMPROMISE THEIR PATIENTS' DIGNITY JUST AS THEY ARE WILLING TO COMPROMISE THE DIGNITY OF THOSE WHO TOOK THE BOARD EXAMS AND PASSED IN GOOD FAITH?


FOR INTEGRITY’S SAKE ARE THEY WILLING TO ROB THEIR PATIENTS OF A DIGNIFIED DEATH TO MAINTAIN THE FAVORABLE STATISTICS OF THE HOSPITAL WHERE THEY WORK?


FOR THEIR PRIDE AND FOR THEIR INTEGRITY ARE THEY REALLY WILLING TO HURT INNOCENT PEOPLE?

I AM VERY AFRAID...


Note: Please feel free to email us your thoughts, opinions and point of view on the current issues surrounding Nursing.

Posted by Joan Gillen at 11:35 PM | | Comments

Life would become easier after a retake

Life would become easier after a retake

INQ7.net
http://opinion.inq7.net/inq7viewpoints/letters/view_article.php?article_id=26209

Wake up, Philippines. The rest of the world is watching the outcome of this nursing exam controversy. It doesn’t matter if you cheated or not; the world perceives you did. With e-mail today, you can send results in a flash, to anywhere.

Many hospitals won’t hire you. With litigation today, any administrator of a foreign hospital would be insane to touch you. If there is a problem, a lawyer will go straight to exam cheating.

This will come back and bite you. Life is tough. This is only one of many hardships you will encounter in life.

If you know your stuff, what’s the problem? Stress, or any other excuse you want? Bad luck. Get on with it and bite the bullet. Then, you could proudly say, “I took my exam twice and passed. I really know my stuff.”

Anyway, the second time is easier. Otherwise, you might never get a job. Life wasn’t meant to be easy, but it will become easier after the retake.

FROM: http://opinion.inq7.net/inq7viewpoints/letters/view_article.php?article_id=26209

Posted by Thor at 10:42 PM | | Comments

It’s not about nursing, but about justice

It’s not about nursing, but about justice

INQ7.net
http://opinion.inq7.net/inq7viewpoints/letters/view_article.php?article_id=26208

THE letter writer Russel de Vera (“Retake the exam if you know your nursing” -- Viewpoints, Oct. 10, 2006) doesn't get it. The big picture is not about our nurses not knowing their nursing. It's about justice.

I have worked with and have known many nurses in the US who have been in the nursing profession anywhere from four to 40 years, all graduates of Philippine nursing schools.

There has been a grave injustice committed here to the nurses who passed the June 2006 board examinations. They are crying out to people like De Vera, a colleague, to all of us “kababayan” [fellow countrymen], and to the government for justice.

That is justice for the innocent. Punish the persons responsible for the test question leakage who have undermined the integrity of the profession, whose interest are only for themselves. Do not punish the innocent who exhausted all their effort and finances to pursue a dream, which De Vera probably had a decade ago. De Vera basically called them cowards for not being willing to retake the board exam.

Do not be quick to judge our nurses, because wherever your journey in America goes you are one of them -- Philippine-educated or, as they would often refer to us in the medical field in the US, foreign-trained.

IRENEO LABILLES III RPT, Select Specialty Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee (via e-mail)

FROM: http://opinion.inq7.net/inq7viewpoints/letters/view_article.php?article_id=26208

Posted by Thor at 10:39 PM | | Comments

Anti-retake board passers may change minds on retake

Anti-retake board passers may change minds on retake

By Veronica Uy
INQ7.net
http://newsinfo.inq7.net/breakingnews/nation/view_article.php?article_id=26300

(UPDATE) FACED with the possibility of a drawn out judicial process to resolve the controversy over leaked questions in the June 2006 nursing licensure examinations, board passers who had rejected a retake of the test are considering changing their position.

Grace Urquiaga vice president of the Alliance of New Nurses, which represents many of the 17,000 examinees who passed the licensure test, said her group was consulting with as many board passers as possible.

“Some people want to have a retake rather than go through a long court battle. They want to hang up the gloves. We're conducting an informal survey [on] the Internet to get as many insights as possible,” she said.

But Renato Aquino Jr., president of the alliance, reiterated that the position of the group was no retake.

He said there would be consultations among the board passers if and when the Court of Appeals would decide on a retake.

At the Senate hearing on the nursing board leak, Professional Regulation Commission chair Leonor Tripon-Rosero, the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, and the other parties involved in addressing the issue reiterated their positions.

Rosero said once a Court of Appeals temporary restraining order against the oath-taking for board passers lapses, her office would continue to administer the oaths and issue licenses to the new nurses.

But Commission on Filipinos Overseas head Dante Ang, who also heads a task force looking into the nursing board, insisted that there should be a retake.

FROM: http://newsinfo.inq7.net/breakingnews/nation/view_article.php?article_id=26300

Posted by Thor at 10:35 PM | | Comments

PRC to allow nurses oath-taking after TRO expires

PRC to allow nurses oath-taking after TRO expires
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/topofthehour.aspx?StoryId=52987


The Professional Regulation Commission on Thursday said it will allow the oath-taking of nursing board passers after a temporary restraining order issued by the Court of Appeals expires on October 18.

PRC Chairwoman Leonor Tripon-Rosero told the Senate Committee on Civil Service and Government Reorganization that she will allow the oath-taking unless Malacañan orders otherwise.

The appellate court issued the TRO on August 18 based on a petition filed by several nursing groups asking the court to invalidate the results of the June 12 Nursing Licensure Examination (NLE), which was marred by leakage.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/topofthehour.aspx?StoryId=52987

During Thursday’s hearing, Dante Ang told the Senate that he backs a retake of the nursing board to maintain the integrity of the exam.

Rosero maintained her position against a retake.

The National Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday said the NLE leakage scandal was limited only to Baguio City and Manila and that 17 officials of at least three review centers would be charged for their alleged involvement.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said President Arroyo and the Cabinet have agreed to let the Department of Labor and Employment decide whether to order two of the five-part examination retaken based on the NBI’s findings.

NBI Director Nestor Mantaring told a Malacañan press briefing that the bureau has completed the investigation and would press charges against 17 officials of three review centers before the Department of Justice for violating Republic Act No. 8981, the law that modernized the PRC.

The officials face six to 12 years in prison if found guilty, he said.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/topofthehour.aspx?StoryId=52987

Posted by Budek at 8:30 PM | | Comments

Nurses insist: No to exam retake

Nurses insist: No to exam retake
By Mary Grace Plata
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/dav/2006/10/12/news/nurses.insist.no.to.exam.retake.html

THE Philippine Nurses Association (PNA) stood pat in its decision to support June 2006 nursing board passers who opposed to retake the licensure exams.

"To retake the exams would be like an admission of guilt for them (board passers) and the nursing profession would lose its credibility," Dr. Bobby Palec, PNA governor for Southern Mindanao, said in Wednesday's edition of Ugnayan sa Royal Mandaya.

Palec said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has allocated P52 million from her social fund to help examinees should the Court of Appeals (CA) rule for a retake.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/dav/2006/10/12/news/nurses.insist.no.to.exam.retake.html

But Palec was quick to add that lawsuits are expected to be filed should CA decides a retake of the board examination.

"We won't allow them to fool around with us," said board passer Christine Papasin, who ranked 8th in the June 2006 Nursing Licensure Exams.

Papasin said being "punished for something we have not taken part of" is unfair.

She expressed gratitude to PNA for supporting them.

Palec said a Commission on Higher Education (Ched) guideline to only allow review centers within accredited nursing schools, needs to be fully implemented to prevent similar incident to happen in the future.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/dav/2006/10/12/news/nurses.insist.no.to.exam.retake.html

Posted by Budek at 8:18 PM | | Comments

17 in nursing test leak named; complaint filed

17 in nursing test leak named; complaint filed

http://newsinfo.inq7.net/breakingnews/nation/view_article.php?article_id=26326


By Tetch Torres
INQ7.net
Last updated 06:38pm (Mla time) 10/12/2006

(3RD UPDATE) THE NATIONAL Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has formally filed a criminal complaint before the Department of Justice (DoJ) against 17 officials of three nursing review centers for their alleged involvement in the June licensure exam leakage.

The NBI however spared the examinees, saying it was “practically impossible” to determine whether any one of them had benefited from the purported leak.

Ricarte and Evangeline Gapuz, Ma. Elena Alterejos, Elizabeth Iciano and Eleanor Artemia Gapuz of R.A. Gapuz Review Center; George Cordero, Adela and Jerry Cordero, Corazon Sabado, MacJohn Fabian, Lolita Barlahan and Eugenia Alcantara of Inress Review Center and Gerald Andamo, Attorney Glenn Luansing, Mike Jimenes, Jerome Balisnomo and Freddie Valdez of Pentagon Review Center have been accused of allegedly violating Republic Act 8981 or the Act Modernizing the Professional Regulation Commission.

The DoJ will form a five-man panel to conduct a preliminary investigation, Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño said.

As of posting time, none of the accused can be reached for comment.

“In the probe conducted, the NBI took notice of the review centers’ claims that providing ‘tips’ was a normal practice in order to lure students to enroll in their institutions,” according to the complaint filed by the bureau, a copy of which was released to media.

“But the irregularity in the recently concluded NLE [Nursing Licensure Exam] was not a simple case of tip, or an intelligent guess by the reviewers on what was forthcoming,” it said.

“What actually transpired was a leakage in every sense of the word. Indeed, the review centers possessed and discussed questions with even the prescribed answers, clearly they must have too valuable materials that have originated from the persons who prepared the exams," it said.

In the same complaint, the NBI said it decided to spare the board takers because it was difficult to determine whether they actually benefited from the leakage by the mere possession of the review materials under question.

“It takes not much debate to infer that an examinee who gets the right answers to the questions on Test 3 and 5 does not necessarily mean that he availed of the benefits of the purported leakage. In the same manner, one who fails to get the right answers does not necessarily suggest that he did not have possession thereof," the NBI said.

Questions in tests 3 and 5 were allegedly what were leaked to the students.

“Admittedly, these leakages affected the determination of the proficiency of the examinees, albeit affected the morale of the Non- Inress, Gapuz, and Pentagon reviewees, but it must also be admitted that essentially it is the knowledge of the subjects given in the exams that would eventually determine whether a student could pass the NLE,” the NBI said.

“It is not within the authority of the NBI or any person for that matter to comprehend the capabilities of the examinees come examination time for this is where luck, knowledge of the subject matter, preparation, faith and prayers taken altogether come into work,” the NBI said.

"For these reasons, to push for the prosecution of the reviewees is not only difficult but impractical. This is apart from the fact that this Bureau would not be willing to serve as an instrument in depriving the students of their professional advancement," it added.

The NBI said what was prohibited under the law was making known the exam and tampering of grades which the students would not likely have committed.

Elfren Meneses, NBI Anti-Fraud and Computer Crimes Division chief, said that they have over 20 witnesses, students and photocopiers among them, who testified on the alleged leakage.

Other bases for the complaint were the Microsoft Powerpoint presentation, compact discs containing a file of the alleged leaked questions, and typewritten and handwritten manuscripts of the examiners.

The NBI has filed a criminal complaint against Board of Nursing officials Anisia Dionisio and Virginia Madeja before the Office of the Ombudsman.

Zuño said the panel would evaluate the NBI report, summon the 17 officials, and determine whether there would be basis to file a case against them in court.

Zuño said the panel would also recommend whether the 17 would be placed on the watchlist of the Bureau of Immigration to prevent them from leaving the country.

Zuño also noted that the panel would not be confined to the names submitted by the NBI.

"The NBI can file supplementary complaint or depending on our evaluation if other people can be included in the case," Zuño said.

Posted by Lei_SATG at 7:58 PM | | Comments

Nurse-reviewer apologizes for saying leak was nationwide

Nurse-reviewer apologizes for saying leak was nationwide

Written by Walter I. Balane / MindaNews
Thursday, 12 October 2006 08 27 05
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/11 October) -- "I am sorry if I hurt you," Daryl Joel “Butch” Dumdum, a Davao-based nurse and reviewer "in review centers around the country,” said Tuesday evening as he explained to reporters here that his pronouncement in a national newspaper about the alleged nationwide leak of test questions in the June 2006 nursing licensure exam, was “only hypothetical.”

"I understand how they feel. I did not say they really cheated. I only said I believed that there is a possibility of the existence of the leak here but not the existence (itself)," he said.
Dumdum's statements, published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer over the weekend angered nursing board passers and their parents in Davao City who maintained no such leakage benefited them.

The newspaper report quoted Dumdum as saying the leakage was everywhere and that it benefited examinees in Davao and Tacloban.

Dumdum, 23, said the newspaper report did not misquote him but the crowd “overreacted" to his pronouncement.

He clarified that he did not volunteer for an interview with the media. "They called me for an interview," he said.

He also denied that he was being investigated by the National Bureau of Investigation. He said he went to the NBI after he was asked to issue a sworn statement about his pronouncements.

He denied that his statement was part of a spin to sway decision on the possibility of an order for a retake. "My conscience is clear. I only talked to the media as a concerned citizen, as a registered nurse. There are no strings attached," he said.

Dumdum said his interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Saturday was arranged by "some friends at the University of Sto. Tomas". UST is for a retake of the nursing board.

He said he granted the interview mainly to push for his stand for government to order a retake of the exam.

Dumdum said he has been receiving text messages of threats and intimidation after the story was published.

Dumdum wondered why media lacked reports on the supporters for a retake. He said there are many sectors and personalities who favor the retake but were not given space or airtime by the media.

Dumdum said he will continue to push for a retake even if the NBI probe will show that the leakage occurred in Luzon. The NBI revealed to Manila-based reporters today that the leak was only in Baguio City and Metro Manila and that reports that it reached Davao were "unfounded" (see related story)

Dr. Roberto Palec, governor of the Philippine Nurses Association in Southeastern Mindanao said they might file civil charges against Dumdum.

Palec said Dumdum committed insubordination when he spoke to the media against his advice. He said the case could result to the revocation of Dumdum's nursing license. But Palec said he will hold the filing of the case until he gets to personally talk with Dumdum. (Walter I. Balane/MindaNews)


FROM:
http://mindanews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1055&Itemid=50

Posted by marisse at 2:53 PM | | Comments

SU nursing dean backs exam retake

SU nursing dean
backs exam retake

BY JUANCHO GALLARDE
http://www.visayandailystar.com/2006/October/12/negor1.htm

The dean of the College of Nursing of Silliman University in Dumaguete City said she supports the proposal for those who took the nursing examinations in June to retake Tests 3 and 5 in the wake of the leakage scandal involving it.

Dr. Teresita Sinda's position parallels that of the Technical Committee on Nursing Education of the Commission on Higher Education for a retake. She said there was no reason why the candidates should not retake the two tests because the scandal has tarnished the image of the nursing education of the country.

http://www.visayandailystar.com/2006/October/12/negor1.htm

Several candidates from Oriental Negros who took the board examination and have been taking nursing courses to go abroad, had not escaped the nursing board leakage.

Sinda said graduates of nursing schools in Dumageute City had been spared because they normally do not take their board examinations in June. She added that, because of the incident, the technical committee on nursing education has become desperate to find ways to prevent syndicates from infiltrating the nursing board examination.

In the US, Sinda said, the Board of Nursing is asked only to draft the rules and regulations for the board examination, unlike in the Philippines where its counterpart conducts the examination, making it easier for syndicates to infiltrate it.*JG ]

http://www.visayandailystar.com/2006/October/12/negor1.htm

Posted by Budek at 2:49 PM | | Comments

Foreign employers wary after RP nurse test leak

Foreign employers wary after RP nurse test leak
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/topofthehour.aspx?StoryId=52962

At least two top destination for Filipino nurses abroad have raised concern over the Nursing Licensure Examination leakage in the Philippines, ABS-CBN's Bandila reported Wednesday.

"Our labor attaché to Belgium was in touch with me last night and asked about what is happening because Brussels was asking," said Labor Secretary Arturo Brion.

"When you speak of Brussels, you speak of the [European Union]. A representative of the Japanese embassy also approached us," he added.

The labor chief said that although Belgian and Japanese authorities have no say in the ongoing debate on whether to conduct a retake of the examination or not, they are closely monitoring the Philippine government's decision on the matter.

"Foreign governments will never intervene in our affairs and we will not allow them to intervene but they have the right to ask. They want to know what is happening," said Brion.

Thousands of Filipino nurses work overseas, most notably in the United States and Europe.

In the United Kingdom, an EU-member country, Philippine government figures show that 80 percent of about 180,000 Filipino workers there are in the health sector.

In the US, thousands of Filipino nurses have found employment at hospitals after its health sector opened up opportunities for foreign workers.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/topofthehour.aspx?StoryId=52962

Recently, the Philippine and Japanese governments signed an agreement allowing Filipino nurses and caregivers to work in Japan.

The Philippine Nurses Association said that the country has 368,589 licensed nurses. An average of 13,000 new nurses, meanwhile, are produced every year.

Experts, however, said that with the rate of Filipino nurses going abroad to seek greener pastures, it would not be long before the country's health care sector dries up.

In the US, for example, Filipino nurses are given chances of obtaining residency visas and later on, citizenship. They also have the chance of bringing their family to the US.

Decision on exam retake

Brion, meanwhile, is set to issue his final decision on the nursing examination within the week after the National Bureau of Investigation the results of its probe on the leakage.

"What we are also after here is not just the integrity of our system but the welfare of our examinees as well. We need to decide at the soonest so that these people (examinees) can already move on," he said.

On Wednesday NBI Director Nestor Mantaring said the agency will file criminal charges against 17 people allegedly involved in the leakage. He did not name the accused.

The agency had delayed the release of its final report after receiving the sworn statements from nursing board takers linking a Manila-based review center to the leakage.

Some 42,000 nursing graduates took the NLE examination last June. A total of 17,821 examinees passed the exam.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/topofthehour.aspx?StoryId=52962

Posted by Budek at 11:13 AM | | Comments

Cheating in Manila, Baguio only -- NBI

Cheating in Manila, Baguio only -- NBI

17 officials of 3 review centers implicated

By Gil C. Cabacungan Jr., Juliet Labog-Javellana
Inquirer
Last updated 02:22am (Mla time) 10/12/2006
http://newsinfo.inq7.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view_article.php?article_id=26182

Published on Page A1 of the October 12, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

THE NATIONAL Bureau of Investigation yesterday announced that the leak of test questions for the controversial nursing licensure examination was limited only to testing centers in cities of Metro Manila and in Baguio City, covered only Tests III and V, and was perpetrated by 17 officials of three review centers.

The names of the concerned officials and review centers will be made public after the NBI submits its formal report to the Department of Justice, which will file charges of violation of Republic Act No. 8981, or the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) Modernization Act, NBI Director Nestor Mantaring said at a news briefing.

The review center officials are facing imprisonment from six years and one day to 12 years.

No PRC official was found culpable because, Mantaring said, the previous investigation showed that the manuscript containing the leak had come from Board of Nursing members Anesia Dionisio and Virginia Madeja.

A five-member panel had earlier been formed by the Ombudsman to investigate Dionisio and Madeja for graft and corruption.

Mantaring said the government did not consider these accused as flight risks because he considered them “professionals.”

With its findings, the NBI considers the case closed.

“We have to close the investigation. Otherwise we’ll have no end to these investigations,” Mantaring told the Inquirer.

Asked to comment, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said: “Yes, I agree with him that the case is closed as far as the NBI is concerned.”

He said the NBI’s job of “investigating the facts behind the leakage,” as well as the matter of deciding on the issue of a retake, was now in the hands of Cabinet officials.

Labor Secretary Arturo Brion said the NBI submitted to him yesterday morning its partial report on the extent and perpetrators of the leak. He said the complete report would be given to him tomorrow.

Brion said he would issue a department order on Monday at the latest as to whether a retake would be required of those who passed the June 11-12 board exam.

‘Nationwide’ probe

“As much as possible, I want this over within this week. I’m as eager as everyone [else] to finish this and to put a closure to this nursing exam leakage, so let’s see what we can do,” he told Senate reporters after his confirmation by the Commission on Appointments.

At the briefing, Mantaring said the NBI had “terminated” its “nationwide” inquiry into the leak.

“We are recommending the filing of charges against 17 people in connection with this investigation. We found evidence to support our findings that the leakage was in the areas of Baguio and (Metro) Manila. In other areas, although there were rumors that there was leakage, we found no evidence to support that allegation,” he said, adding:

“All factors were taken into consideration in the analysis and evaluation of facts. I am confident that it will warrant conviction.”

The NBI had 20 witnesses in the investigation, including the persons responsible for photocopying the manuscript containing the leaked questions and answers, which were attested to by the copier operators.

“We have documentary evidence showing that the manuscript prepared by the examiner found its way to the review centers,” Mantaring said.

He said that in finding the culprits, investigators compared the results of the three suspected review centers with the general average results of all the examinees.

All rumors

According to Mantaring, the NBI looked into all the rumors, as well as claims that the leak covered, not only Luzon, but also the Visayas and Mindanao, and not only Tests III and V but also Tests I and II.

http://newsinfo.inq7.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view_article.php?article_id=26182

“Aside from Baguio and (Metro) Manila, there was no evidence gathered that there was also leakage in some examination centers,” he said.

Mantaring said the NBI could not find proof that the branches of the three suspected review centers had also distributed test questions to their branches in the Visayas and Mindanao.

“The possibility is always there for the review centers [to give out the answers to their branches outside Baguio and Manila], but we have to go by the evidence,” he said.

While the NBI had no recommendation on whether a retake should be conducted, Mantaring conceded that it would be difficult to identify the examinees who had used the leak to pass.

“It would be very hard to pinpoint who benefited because there are times that some students who had the leak did not use it,” he said.

Ermita said the NBI could not yet reveal how many examinees from Baguio and Metro Manila would be affected because the bureau was still matching the list of examinees who passed with the list of those who had enrolled in the three suspected review centers.

He said the count would be useful should the government decide to order a partial retake.

Ermita also said the concerned review centers were those that had been earlier named in the newspapers.

No need to wait

Brion said he did not have to wait for the Court of Appeals to decide on petitions contesting the move of the PRC to administer the oath to some of the board passers.

He said that as he had explained to lawmakers, the executive branch could act on the issue.

“I believe that the executive [branch] can and should act to end this issue as soon as possible for the sake of our examinees,” he said.

To this, PRC Chairperson Leonor Tripon-Rosero said she had no comment.

But she said in a phone interview that the PRC had twice met with Brion and recommended that the government wait to see how the appellate court would rule on the matter.

The meetings took place on Sept. 27 and 30, she said.

The appellate court had earlier issued a 60-day temporary restraining order on the oath-taking of the board passers.

Rosero also said the PRC was sticking by its position against a retake.

Earlier, in an effort to remove the effects of the leak, the PRC invalidated 20 leaked questions in Test III of the exam and reduced the weight of the scores in Test V because 90 of its 100 questions had been leaked.

He has the power

Asked if the PRC would follow Brion’s decision if he orders a retake, Rosero said: “We will leave it to our professional judgment.”

Brion said that as for the department order he would issue, “I will aspire for Saturday or Sunday.”

“If not, [it will be] not later than Monday. The issue here is the validity of the [draft executive order] for a retake and the [PRC] Resolution No. 31 [for no retake],” he said.

Asked if President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo could change his order, Brion said: “Of course, everybody is under the control of the President. But she has already given me the power to make a decision here.”

Brion said the NBI report would not be the only basis for his decision because he had to consider the sentiments of various stakeholders affected by the controversy.

“The NBI report is important for purposes of our consideration, but it is not the only item ... There are many other factors that we have to consider,” he said.

Japan’s concerns

Brion said concerns had been raised not only by the nursing profession but also by foreign governments.

He said a representative of the Japanese Embassy met with him yesterday morning to express Japan’s concern, which stemmed, he said, from the recently forged Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement that allows for the employment of Filipino nurses and caregivers in that country.

Brion said the Philippine labor attaché in Brussels also informed him on Tuesday night of a similar concern.

“He asked me what had happened because Brussels is asking. And when you speak of Brussels, you speak of the European Union,” Brion said. With a report from Leila B. Salaverria

http://newsinfo.inq7.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view_article.php?article_id=26182

Posted by Budek at 11:08 AM | | Comments



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