Appeals court OKs oath-taking of new nurses amid retake row

The Court of Appeals (CA) on Thursday paved the way for the oath-taking of new nurses as it ruled that there was "no legal impediment" for passers of last June's board exam to be sworn in. GMA News' 24 Oras reported that the decision allowed the oath-taking of 17,323 examinees who make up the 41.24 percent of nursing graduates who passed based on the initial test results. CA Associate Justice Vicente Veloso said the First Division's 60-day temporary restraining order (TRO) issued last August 18 had already expired. Also, he said the court did not issue a status quo order that would have delayed the oath-taking. Veloso added that the order calling for the oath-taking of the exam passers was "immediate and executory," dzBB quoted him as saying. The appellate court's decision was issued after a marathon mediation and conciliation meeting. The meeting involved officials from the appellate court, the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), Labor Secretary Arturo Brion, and the Board of Nursing. The officials began discussions Thursday morning and adjourned at about 2:30 p.m. the same day. During the meeting, the PRC conveyed fears that it would be cited in contempt if it would set a date for the oath-taking. However, Veloso maintained that the 41.24 percent of examinees who passed before the PRC recomputed the test scores should already be sworn in as new nurses, the dzBB report said. The group led by Rene Tadle, president of University of Santo Tomas (UST) College of Nursing faculty, reportedly insisted during the meeting that a retake must take place. It was already evident, the group said, that Test 5 was leaked to examinees of the June 2006 Nurse Licensure Examination. Test 5 covers neuro-psychiatric nursing. Test 3, which covers medical/ surgical nursing, had also been reportedly leaked. Tadle is among the petitioners for the TRO on the nurses' oath-taking, which the CA earlier granted. PRC chair Leonor Rosero said her office will start administering oaths to new nurses on Friday. Qualified oath-takers can visit during office hours at the PRC's headquarters in Manila or its regional bureaus in the provinces. "The CA told us we have to administer the oath of office to those who passed, except the 1,687 who are supposed to retake it," Rosero said in an interview on dzRH radio. The number of exam passers dwindled when the Court of Appeals ruled on October 13 that 1,687 examinees – who had gained passing marks after the PRC recomputed their scores – should now retake the controversial Tests 3 and 5. The tribunal also deemed that 1,186 passers who previously flunked the exams but passed when the scores were recomputed should now be added to the list of board passers. In effect, the CA reaffirmed Thursday its decision allowing a selective retake of the exams for 1,687 nurses, since they were perceived to have benefited from the leakage. The nursing exam issue has divided the stakeholders, with a group of nurses threatening to file charges against Brion and a rival group seeking a nationwide retake.-GMANews.TV