Senate thumbs down P14-M PRC budget

ABS-CBN News

The Senate finance committee on Wednesday said it will not approve the P14 million in additional funds requested by the Professional Regulation Commission after the agency said it has earmarked the money for other purposes.

"If you give it to us, we will use it for other activities," an ABS-CBN report quoted PRC Chairwoman Leonor Tripon-Rosero as saying to the panel headed by Sen. Franklin Drilon.

The P14 million requested by PRC was included in the P46.4-billion supplemental budget approved by the House of Representatives late last month. It was meant to be used for remedial tests that would be conducted after the nursing exam leakage.

Drilon, however, said the government is better off appropriating the funds for other expenses. He also chided Rosero for her statement.

During the hearing, senators took turns grilling Rosero about the nursing board exam leakage.
Rosero said that examinees should no longer be required to retake the exam. She said it was "statistically impossible to identify those who benefited from the leakage."

The PRC chief also retracted a previous announcement that the agency invalidated 90 leaked questions in the computation of the exam results.

Prior to Wednesday's hearing, Rosero had snubbed three other Senate summons after the exam leakage controversy broke out. She invoked a presidential directive prohibiting officials of the executive branch from appearing before congressional hearings without President Arroyo's approval.

Malacañan said the order was issued by the President to protect government officials from being grilled in pointless congressional hearings.

Government officials, including those in the military and the police, have snubbed legislative inquiries since the issuance of the order.

The officials only attend Senate budget hearings.

The June 2006 Nursing Licensure Examinations hogged the headlines for weeks after informants bared that some examinees were able to get their hands on questions days before the tests.

The discovery prompted a full-blown government investigation. The Court of Appeals also issued a 60-day temporary restraining order prohibiting PRC from administering the oath-taking of new nurses. With a report from Lynda Jumilla