Palace defends backtrack on nursing exam retake

09/30 5:33:51 PM
Philstar

Malacañang Saturday defended their move to backtrack on the nursing exam retake, saying their hands are tied on the matter.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said in a statement that President Gloria Arroyo definitely wants a retake of the nursing exam but legal constraints are barring the government's way.

Bunye said, "The President has expressed her desire for a retake as the only way we can redeem the integrity of the nursing licensure exam as well as the overall reputation of our professional health care workers."

"While we are firm on this stand, we are constrained from immediate action by the pending cases before the court,"Bunye said.

However, he added that "we will not abandon our resolve to settle this issue once and for all, under the rule of law and the public interest."

Earlier, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said they are temporarily putting on hold the implementation of President Arroyo's order for a retake of the June nursing licensure examinations pending the decision of the Court of Appeals (CA) on the tests.