Resigned PNA President Scolds Complainants

Published on August 26, 2006

In the wake of the nursing exam leakage scam, the resigned national president of the Philippine Nursing Association (PNA) reportedly urged leaders of the professional nurses in Baguio to go slow on the scam and reportedly reprimanded a media liaison officer for allegedly dragging the name of his son in the controversy.

By Arthur L. Allad-iw
Northern Dispatch
Bulatlat.com

BAGUIO CITY (246 kms north of Manila) – Dr. George Cordero, who recently resigned as national president of the Philippine Nursing Association (PNA) in the wake of the Board exam leakage scam, reportedly urged leaders of the professional nurses in this city to go slow on the scam. He also allegedly reprimanded Karen Calderon, media liaison officer of the 92 Baguio Board examinees and professional nurses who filed a complaint before the Professional Regulatory Commission, for allegedly dragging the name of his son in the controversy.

Cordero allegedly phoned Calderon asking her if she prepared the chronology of events on the scam, which supposedly mentioned his son. Cordero allegedly claimed that the said statement is hitting him below the belt.

In the said statement, Cordero allegedly called leaders of the complainants from the Cordillera and Baguio PNA chapters and the Cordillera Association of Deans of the Philippine College of Nursing (ADPCN) to go slow on the scam as it will affect the chances of the Philippines to become a NCLEX-RN testing center for nurses bound to the United States of America. He urged them (leaders) to kill the issue.

Calderon told Northern Dispatch (Nordis) in an interview that Cordero called her on August 2 at 2 p.m. and asked her in a loud, angry voice if she prepared the statement which dragged his son into the controversy. Nordis learned that Cordero’s son, Nathan Clarence, was an examinee in the controversial June nursing board exam.

“Pati ba naman anak ko. (Why include my son?),” Cordero was quoted by Calderon as saying.

Calderon explained to Cordero that while the statement indicated her name as reference, it was an output of a collective discussion by the complainants and the PNA leaders.

“In fact, I can only send statements to the media after the group gives its go signal,” she explained to Nordis.

She also admitted that it was only during their conversation that she learned that Cordero’s son took the Board exam. So, she said, she has no intention to maliciously include Cordero’s son in the controversy.

Nordis learned earlier from a PNA press conference that Nathan Clarence Cordero’s name was not in the list of board passers or in the list of these who failed. Northern Dispatch/Posted by Bulatlat