Arroyo orders DOLE to appeal CGFNS decision

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Friday ordered the labor department to appeal the decision of the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) to bar June 2006 nursing board passers to work in the United States. "I am ordering the Secretary of Labor to immediately look into the findings of the [CGFNS]; and seek all forms of relief from the visa hold, and appeal for reconsideration of the decision," the President said in a statement. The Philadelphia-based CGFNS International announced Thursday that Filipino nursing graduates who passed the leakage-marred June 2006 nursing licensure examination are not eligible for a VisaScreen Certificate. In its website (www.cgfns.org), CGFNS urged Philippine authorities to “provide an opportunity for re-take of tests (3 and 5) without surrender of licensure" so that the June 2006 passers may qualify for the VisaScreen Certificate. The VisaScreen Certificate is a requirement to apply for a nursing or related job in the US. "I am saddened by the fact that a visa hold has been imposed on the deployment of our Filipino nurses as a result of the cheating scandal affecting the nursing exams last year," Mrs. Arroyo said. The President said her office will also follow up all reform measures mandated by the Cabinet for the Professional Regulation Commission. "All officials involved in the nursing exam leakage should be dismissed without benefits and criminally charged. If necessary, the government shall provide financial assistance to 2006 nursing board passers for the retake of the exams as called for by the CGFNS, with the proper body to oversee the project, including having a common review center," the President said. "We shall resolve this controversy once and for all and uphold the prestige and excellence of the Philippine nursing profession, " Mrs. Arroyo said. The CGFNS said a certificate will not be issued to applicants unless they agree to re-take the test modules, which were allegedly leaked to examinees. - GMANews.TV