Yes. Because I personally know some of them. (100% of our psych batch 2003 who took law passed!!! 
).
Other than that, please read what one of my professors can say about the batch, coming from UP. Click here.
Congratulations to all my friends who made it:
Ben Ayson
Polka Gan
Emil Joven
Gretch Aquino
Emilou Siongco
Roch Tumaneng
Lorraine Dychiao
Roy Raval (friend from Ilocos)
Marvelous Madamba
and my golly... Sheryl Tizon, who was my classmate in Hum 1, and took her undergrad philo for only 3 years (Magna Cum Laude) ... and now bar topnother... Hands down!!! 
P.S. Please let me know if I failed to mention you... and I'll add you up to the list above.
Haaayyy sana masundun naming mga undergrad ang inyong mga yapak 
Top ten 2007 bar exams passers
(Source: Supreme Court PIO)
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Cast your vote HERE.
or out?
Before you cast your vote in this poll, please read the links below so you have an idea that PRO and ANTI - RALLYISTS/GMA/CALL for RESIGNATIONS co-exist in a nation,
or a community in that matter. And to be informed that: though many
are rallying on the streets to have her out, there are people existing
who choose her to stay.
In random views:
Person A.
Person B. (You have to join his network)
Person C.
Person D. (You have to join his network)
Person E.
Person F.
(If you want to add a link, let the author of this blog know. Gracias).
Cast your vote and be heard!!!
Some hilarious THRILL(anes)S that happened to my family and me et.al. this Nov. 29, 2007 in chronological order:
AT HOME
At 4PM I receive a text msg from my sis:
Are you watching? Mag-kaka-coup d'etat na!
I got tensed. I went downstairs and told my parents:
Ma,
Da... mag coup coup d'etat na sabi ni Chap! Paano na dinner natin sa
Super Bowl?!? (Ngayon lang kasi kami makapag-didinner na kumpleto as a
family)
Daddy responds:
Walang coup d'etat! 'Yang si Chap naman e... wala namang sumusunod sa kanila Trillanes at Guingona e! Mga pampagulo.
After taking a bath and dressing up:
Ma, Da, Nick... Tara na, mag-dinner na tayo!!! (But all of them watching TV)
Secretary Puno on TV says:
May curfew na
tayo... no carrying of firearms - licensed or otherwise... If caught
with firearms, they will be apprehended for questioning...
I got tensed again:
Paano na dinner natin.. may curfew na pala!
Itong sila Guingona naman kasi e! Pa-uprising-uprising pa kasi e! Wala namang nangyari!
Then words flash on TV screen:
CURFEW STARTS 12 MN. TO 5AM
I said:
Ah okay, pwede pa tayo mag-dinner.
DINNER AT SUPERBOWL, TRINOMA
At the reception. I told the waiter:
Table for 4 please
We were told to pick seats. It was 8:10 pm in my watch.
Waiter handed the menu.
Daddy: Wow. Gusto ko yung pancit.
Me: Ah I'll order the Fillet O'Fish... naitikman ko na masarap.
Then the waiter cuts...
Waiter: Sir, Ma'am... may 9pm po tayo na curfew. Okay lang po kung hanggang 8.45pm lang po sila kakain?
Pissed me: Ha?!?
Daddy: 12 MN pa ang curfew! (to the waiter)
Waiter responds:
Yes sir, but we received a memo from the management ng mall... all restaurants will close at 9pm.
Mommy: O cge bilisin na natin.
I ordered like superman faster than a speeding bullet:
Ok... ahhh.. (skimming... like cramming on a case).....
Yang Chow Fried Rice, Hot Tea.. yung free. House water na kami
My brother Nick: Pero ako Coke.
I continue: Ahhhhh... yung tofu with mushroom. Pancit. Soup of the Day, Egg Drop Soup.
My brother: Pero ako Garlic Rice.
Waiter repeats our order.
Then serves the food.
After few minutes of eating, they forgot 1 viand... which we also forgot... the fillet! (The most delicious pa naman!!! harghhh 
).
Me: Waiter! Waiter! May nakalimutan yung fillet!
Waiter: Ah okay ma'am.
Waiter comes back: Ma'am lulutuin pa ma'am.
Pissed me: Hargghhhh. O cge cge! Pakibilisan.
Waiter shouts towards the kitchen: Fillet O'Fish ... in advance please!
Fillet O'Fish arrives when all the food including the rice were all almost eaten na.
Then Chap, my sis working at ABS-CBN arrives from work. She didn't eat anymore.
IN THE CAR ON OUR WAY HOME
(This photo is from another website)
It is 6am in the morning. Before I bid goodbye to my laptop for Toshiba repair center in Makati today and be separated from my nurturing and loving hands for a few days or more than a week if needed, allow me to write about the NEGOSYO book, I planned to write about the past days. I keep forgetting, my mind has been occupied with a lot of things lately. The weekly article of Joey Concepcion in Philippine Star’s business section yesterday reminded me about it.
I was in TRINOMA, strolling when I first spotted this book on display at National Bookstore. I was looking at the bestseller list and it was on the top spot for non-fiction. I immediately bought it with my sole 500 bucks in my wallet, as it is merely P280. Cheap price for a bestseller.
I’ve always been fascinated about millionaire and billionaire businessmen who started from scratch and literally had nothing but they are now what they are today by venturing on entrepreneurship with their hardwork and perseverance. Lucio Tan, Gokongwei and Henry Sy are not only the inspiring business moguls who made it big. This book introduces us to many other Filipinos – (na hindi lang intsik, mabuti naman) who can be like these three men I just mentioned.
One of the most inspiring (and my favorite write-up) is on Dado Banatao, a barrio boy from Cagayan Valley born to a rice farmer and a housewife. Who would have known that this boy would be the Filipino Bill Gates and would invent microchips? He now runs his own companies abroad and flies his own jets.
Who would have known, that the owner of Chinatown’s Eng Bee Tin, survived bankruptcy and a former vendor selling goods from house to house?
Who would have known that the wealthiest member of the House, Manny Villar was a fish vendor in Divisoria?
Who would have known that the Lim family of Sterling Company, a billion-peso conglomerate, from whom we purchase many of our supplies for our bookstore, started with a smalltime book binding business with 2 salesladies? Not to mention that the 4 children were raised in a one room apartment and their 3 boys used to pee into a quaker oats can.
Who would have known that the highest paid professional Manny Pangilinan, who was sent to Wharton with a scholarship grant by Procter and Gamble, had his application form rejected eventually by the said company? Look at PLDT now. Maybe Procter and Gamble is now eating their words.
This book inspired me to work hard and I hope to follow the footsteps of its 50 featured entrepreneurs. It is a collective effort of various contributors, one of them (and the best writer who contributed in my opinion) is my professor Ibarra Gutierrez who wrote on Manny Pangilinan – their articles all compiled by Joey Concepcion. I didn’t put my hands down once I got hold of it. It is an easy read and the brief 3 page write-up for every entrepreneur made the reading faster and far from being a bore. It is a good book for students who can read it during their intermittent breaks from their voluminous readings or anyone in that matter who is interested in entrepreneurship.
The book NEGOSYO is produced by GO Negosyo, a project of Philippine Center for Entrepreneurs – a non-stock, non-profit organization with a goal to educate on entrepreneurship and “teach Filipinos to fish and feed the nation many lifetimes,” that is their motto.
Go Negosyo Caravan is ongoing and it just had its first in Manila at Philam Center for the Arts Theater in UN Avenue, Ermita -- which I attended last September 7. I purposely arrived late at 10am because I only wanted to attend the Keynote forum and hear the inspiring stories and speeches of the awardees and advocates. The most remarkable ones were Chua of Chowking, the owner of Rajah tours, former Senator Dra. Benitez of PWU, my favorite blogger Carlos Celdran of Walk this Way, the owners of Figaro and Bobson jeans, among others.
For the ongoing schedule of the caravan, click here and for Go negosyo’s website, click here.
The mom of one of my good and closest friends in lawschool, Rianne Picar was shot dead last August 6. She also lost her dad 9 years ago.
Rianne was my classmate and blockmate for a year before I transferred
to the night section. She was my lunchmate, stress reliever, adviser,
listener, shock absorber, who while everyone is problematic about how
to survive with all the rigours and pressure in lawschool is always
ready to cheer us up with her funny antics, laughters and wide smile. Most of all, Rianne is a very very good friend, sister and daughter. 
(Rianne -- right, with long hair)
July 28, 2007. One of my best Saturdays ever.
My SFC sister Joyce Perez texted me an invitation to a Healing Concert featuring a certain Father Suarez. I replied, "Who is he? Totoo ba yan!?! Ano sakit mo?"
Joyce knows I have been suffering from stress-related vertigo and myofascia pain syndrome (muscle tension) but she said it isn't just for me and that she has sicknesses too that need healing . As I am a skeptic when it comes to "healing wonders," I was not very eager so I replied, "Alright, remind me again few days before the concert and probably I am already decided by that time."
So the plan pushed through as my July 28 Saturday schedule is not occupied nor preoccupied as it used to be on my saturdays. When we were on our way to ULTRA, we didn't know what to expect. We even got nervous as we recalled the wowowee tragedy... paano kung magkastampede at mamatay kami? Bad Joyce. Bad Naomi. I all of a sudden recalled the movie Leap of Faith where Steve Martin portrayed a bogus healer and people he healed were actually paid to act like they were being healed, so I was expecting scenes like people collapsing, getting hypnotized - the typical healing scenarios I see on TV.
However, it wasn't what I expected.
It was a night of praise, song and worship. Kuya Biboy (in the guitar) , Kuya Wally (with the choir) and Ate Eileen (in the piano) our SFC brothers and sister were even on the stage performing. I was singing, with them. Yeah... parang EL SHADDAI or BORN AGAIN you might say but it was more than that. I was praying.
I was praying with Joyce as we sang with the people there with our hands lifted up. Bro. Bob Serrano, the coordinator spoke, " TO BE HEALED, WE NEED TO FORGIVE." This was the first message that caught my attention. And as I prayed and sang, I didn't just pray for my physical sickness, I prayed for healing wounds that I have caused and what others have caused me. I prayed for my enemies, people who have hurt me. I prayed for a forgiving heart that would overrule hatred and anger. I prayed to God to help me forgive myself. I also prayed for Nanay, my lola who has cancer.
The sick people who had illnesses worse than mine -- people with cancer, heart diseases, with excruciating physical pain in their bodies -- were there too-- standing, singing, and praising God. We paid 200 bucks for our tickets, but it wasn't business. It was a benefit concert, where on that night we were able to contribute to the 1.2M for Gawad Kalinga, an organization dedicated in building homes for the poor.
The concert ended at 920pm, it wasn't that late so we decided to go to Oyster Boy which made the night even more memorable. We spent only P400 ++ in this one of the new restos at Metrowalk:
1. Check their Oyster-inspired wall and ceiling... interesting huh?
2. Korean Beef stew for P130
(We love it! I like it better than Chocolate Kisses' in UP Dil)
3. Brewed coffee (refillable + a small brownie) for P55
4. Oyster Rockefeller (6 pieces) for P155
5. Comment: They need to hire more waiters and waitresses! For faster and better service nga e. We were getting impatient. There were only 3 waiters and the resto was full of people. I would have had more refills (than my 2 refills) in my brewed coffee but it was taking too long to get just 1 refill. Sad.
Thanks to this cute little midget though, who entertained us as we strolled along Metrowalk; he would give Dagul a run for his money.
Thanks Joyce. Napakasuwerte kong magka sister in Christ na tulad mo. Indeed, WhatahSahturday night it was!
Jesus said, "I am the Lord your God, your healer. By my wounds you are healed."
Check www.fatherfernando.com - for Father Suarez' upcoming schedules for healing.
Dr. Fredegusto David
August 1, 1937 – July 13, 2007
Sir David will be laid to rest at the Himlayang Pilipino tomorrow, July 21, 2007. Interment starts at 8am.
I just came from the UP Chapel and it is already past 11pm. The “programme," for his necrological service says the tribute would end at 10pm. Expectedly it was extended as this great man Sir David would extend his teachings beyond his death to so many lives he has touched.
“FG,” as his friends fondly call him is our demi-god professor emeritus in the Department of Psychology. He had a stroke last July 12 after his last class in the afternoon and slept in a coma. He passed away the following day. He is supposed to turn 70 this coming August 1. The age of 69 is too young for me for a great teacher to move on to the next life especially when I saw his 8 children, his youngest being as young as I am. They are too young to lose a dad, and his pretty young-looking wife was still grieving. Who wouldn’t? All the people who were there were shedding tears. All these people, including myself were his colleagues, friends, batchmates and students whom he always considered as his adopted grandchildren one way or another were touched greatly by this man.
I remember a kabarkada who was always in deep awe of Sir David shared to me sometime in our college years some bits of information about him:
- alumnus of Temple University where he had his PhD
- discovered a mathematical formula but a fellow university scholar who also discovered the same got ahead of him in informing the public about it
- an institution of UP Department of Psychology, former Department Chair
- all his 8 children went to Philippine Science
- all his 8 children passed the Intarmed Programme of U.P.
- that his competitor when he was a college student eventually became his wife
- has an I.Q. above 140
- has photographic memory (truly, he was able to call each one of us by our last names in our second class meeting without a seatplan but by plain memory- A ROBOTIC MEMORY).
Sir David was my teacher in my last year in college in Psychology 160 which covered Neuropsychology. I, who was always an active bibo kid was the first to be embarrassed by this demi-god in our first meeting. As we started discussing the family of primates under Human Evolution, he asked if it is right for a Chimpanzee which is the closest relative of humans to have sex with a Hominid (Humans). The other bibo kid Mr. Uriarte asked, “Sir, is there a need?” to which he replied, “Who knows?” I was seated at the back row and I saw most of the heads shaking but I said to myself, “Why not?” Hence, I raised my hand and said, “Sir, why not? If the human being wants to.” Then he asked me back, “Why? Would you do it if given the chance?” to which I replied, “No, I am not speaking for myself. I am just saying that if the human being wants to then why not?” Then he said, “Why do you say that it is alright for a human being to do it if you won’t do it yourself?!?” and everyone in class reacted with a big laugh.
God. I was, truly, embarrassed.
The following day he reiterated the same discussion that it is wrong for a human being to have sex with a chimpanzee as it is unethical; that it was never tried and there is no certainty that the species produced will survive. Then he stared at me and said, “Well, except one of you who wants to have sex with a chimp,” and everyone laughed out loud again (except my 4 kabarkada seated next to me whom I think were controlling their giggles as this would really offend me).
Wow.
He embarrassed me again and I turned red, really red.
I was debating with myself as I arrived home that same evening. I knew I had a point. I just couldn’t find the right words to explain it articulately then, at the age of 20. Now that I am 25, with 3 years spent most of the time reading in school I slowly found the right words: My opinion was actually influenced by the existensialism approach by my Philosophical Science professor earlier that day during our first class meeting with Sir David. Existensialism as defined by the Webster’s encyclopedic Dictionary is a doctrine deriving from Kierkegaard that man is not part of an ordered metaphysical scheme, but that individuals must create their own being, each in his own specific situation and environment. Meaning, the human being has his own independent thinking to define and create his own world, and so I said to myself, if that what man wants then let him be… like to have sex with a Chimpanzee, that is. I was never able to convey the reason why I had that opinion. You may find it disagreeable but didn’t humans evolved from vertebrates, then to amphibians, then to reptiles and then to mammals? And when vertebrates/amphibians/reptiles/mammals were formed, I bet the organisms from which they evolved didn’t think and talk to one another if the act of producing and what they will produce are unethical and will survive respectively. It just survived by accident, without thinking or planning that eventually came to be mammals, a family of which is the primates where human beings belong. So, how could it be unethical, when the product of a human and a chimp “may possibly” produce a new breed of species that will survive and come next to human beings in its evolution which may not happen now, but will happen, someday, even if it would take another set of millions of years.
So Sir David, that is my answer. An answer which took some years before I find the right words to express and explain it. However, now that you are not here with us physically I don’t know of your response if you agree or disagree, but one thing is for sure… you taught me to find an answer that I can defend regardless that it is disagreeable to you.
With this, I thank you.
Thank you for teaching me. For inspiring me. For calling me “everyday” in class while you didn’t call the others for the entire semester. And yes, thank you for embarrassing me too. For what happened, I was able to overcome fear of failure and was humbled by you for my arrogance. The socratic method and your calling me everyday trained me and prepared me for another rigorous chapter of my life, that is lawschool. As I was able to slay the obstacles of your calling me everyday though I didn’t always know the answer, I hope I could slay the same obstacles I face everyday in this present chapter of my life and the next that will come though again I will not always know the right answer. But I assure you I will find the answer that I can defend soundly, logically and rationally.
Thank you for smiling back at me as I smile at you along corridors, when I see you at the Palma Hall Annex better known as PHan where psychology subjects are being taught and where you always hang around. I am deeply honored to have known you and have been taught by you, in so many ways.
One of the most memorable and remarkable teachings I learned from you is what your son said awhile ago in the necrological service. He said you never valued material and earthly things like what famous and rich people do. He said he never understood you for 40 years until last month but a month later you passed away. He said what you valued are honesty, integrity and humanity. What you valued are intangible things. His sharing is so “you” sir as you said once in one of our last few meetings, “Than counting my money in the bank, I'd rather have my children come visit me everyday.” This quote wasn’t included in your 205 words of wisdom which some psychology majors compiled and listed on sheets of paper they were distributing for your tribute in church and at the PHan lobby this afternoon, but it is a quote I will not forget. And I hope I will pass the meaning of this message to my future children as you did to your own.
Farewell Sir David. Your legacy lives on.
=================================================================
An article by his daughter... click below
http://www.catanduanestribune.com/NewsArticle/Detail.aspx?newsID=3021
Win or lose, but how she played and experienced the game. Teresa Licaros, our very own candidate for the Ms. Universe pageant, is still a winner. Win or lose is not what she stressed in her blog but making the most of the pageant, and the enjoyment and experience she had in Mexico City.
I have the feeling though that she is in the top 20 when she didn't make it in the top 15. All the contestants are winners actually, lahat magaganda at ang galing mag-project. I also guess that at the preliminaries, she is high in the interview but relatively low in stage projection, evening gown, swim wear and casual wear. And the top 15 must have consistently ranked high in all categories even if some of them are lower than Teresa in the interview, but "just below" and not too far from her interview score. So suma to-tal, mas mataas parin sila sa kanya.
A blog critique is right when he said that he isn't 100% sure on her sucess since Tere may have the brains, but she is not going to a quizbee. Well, he is correct. Ms. Universe involves the complete persona of brains, beauty, poise and projection. The Top 15 have an edge on the latter two. Siguro, they are more experienced sa entablado kasi pagdating sa pagrarampa, lahat nang top 15 super bibo na maglakad, kembot palang.
But as I said earlier, she is still a winner. Joining Bb Pilipinas while in lawschool is suicide for all lawstudes, kaya ang masasabe lang namen ay, "Ang galing niya paren!" Sino kaya may kaya gumawa non sa amin?!? wala! and that makes her exceptional. A Bb. Pilipinas -Universe and having obtained the 2nd highest ranking to date in the honor-roll in UP College of Law in our batch... Tere, that itself already makes you a winner for us.
As to how Ms. Universe 2007 was conducted, I only have 2 comments. One is limiting it to top 20 than to top 15 (because I think that the last 5 in a top 20 still have opportunity to bubble up and surpass the higher ranked top 15 candidates by the preliminary Q&A -- Like Teresa). Second, for the last final Q&A there should only be one and final question for each of the last 5 constestants which can best determine who among them has the best answer.
For different questions have different levels of difficulty and topic -- so how can we compare?!?
If I were to choose based on q and a, projection, beauty and poise:
Ms. Universe - Ms Korea
Ms. Brazil or Ms. Japan - second
Ms. USA or Ms. Venezuela - third
I've always been amazed with child geniuses. If only I could just have a fraction of Mikaela's cerebellum, particularly layer 4 responsible for photographic memory (which would be very helpful for my exams), life would be much easier!
The first time I heard of Mikaela was when I was a reviewee in Brain's Review Center which her family owns. Her mother (who was also a child genius) would talk about an 11 y.o. who got a flat 1.0 in Chemistry 17 (Yun pala, anak nya yun). Ofcourse we were amazed by her I.Q. at 167, but more so on how she copes up in college when I saw her in her pigtails and black doll shoes as she was surrounded by teenagers in Casaa (the college cafeteria in UP Diliman).
I shared about her to my friends, and they say that she must be having a hard time despite the fact that she is a genius, for intelligence is not always directly proportional to emotional maturity.
However... Mikaela once again proves her critics wrong. Please read her speech she delivered last sunday during the graduation exercises in the University of the Philippines.
Take not the road less traveled
One of the
things that strike me as being very “UP Diliman” is the way UPD students can’t
seem to stay on the pavement. From every street corner that bounds an unpaved
piece of land, one will espy a narrow trail that cuts the corner, or leads from
it. Every lawn around the buildings sports at least one of these paths, starting
from a point nearest to the IKOT stop and ending at the nearest entry to the
building. The trails are beaten on the grass by many pairs of feet wanting to
save a fraction of a meter of traveling, no matter that doing so will exact some
cost to the shoes, or, to the ubiquitous slippers, especially when the trails
are new.
What do these paths say about us, UP
students?
One could say that the UP student is enamored with
Mathematics and Pythagoras, hence these triangles formed by the pavement and the
path. Many among you would disagree.
Others could say that the UP
student is naturally countercultural. And the refusal to use the pavement is
just one of the myriads of ways to show his defiance of the order of things.
This time, many would agree.
Still, others will say that the UP
student is the model of today’s youth: they want everything easier, faster, now.
The walkable paths appeal to them because they get to their destination faster,
and presumably, with less effort. Now that is only partly true, and totally
unfair.
These trails weren’t always walkable. No doubt they
started as patches of grass, perhaps overgrown. Those who first walked them must
have soiled their shoes, stubbed their toes, or had insects biting their legs,
all in the immovable belief that the nearest distance between two points is a
straight line. They might even have seen snakes cross their paths. But the
soiled footwear, sore toes, and itchy legs started to conquer the grass. Other
people, seeing the yet faint trail, followed. And as more and more walked the
path, the grass gave in and stopped growing altogether, making the path more and
more visible, more and more walkable.
The persistence of the
paths pays tribute to those UP students who walked them first – the pioneers of
the unbeaten tracks: the defiant and curious few who refuse the familiar and
comfortable; the out-of-the-box thinkers who solve problems instead of fretting
about them; the brave who dare do things differently, and open new opportunities
to those who follow.
They say how one behaved in the past would
determine how he behaves in the future. And as we leave the University,
temporarily or for good, let us call on the pioneering, defiant, and brave
spirit that built the paths to guide us in this next phase of our
life.
We have been warned time and again. Our new world that they
call “adulthood” is one that’s full of compromises, where success is determined
more by the ability to belong than by the ability to think, where it is much
easier to do as everyone else does. Daily we are bombarded with so much news of
despair about the state of our nation, and the apparent, perverse sense of
satisfaction our politicians get from vilifying our state of affairs. It is
fashionable to migrate to other countries to work in deceptively high-paying
jobs like nursing and teaching, forgetting that even at their favored work
destinations, nurses and teachers are some of the lowest paid professionals. The
lure of high and immediate monetary benefits in some low-end outsourcing jobs
has drawn even some of the brightest UP students away from both industry and
university teaching to which they would have been better
suited.
Like the sidewalks and pavement, these paths are the
easiest to take.
But, like the sidewalks and pavement, these
paths take longer to traverse, just as individual successes do not always make
for national progress. The unceasing critic could get elected, but not get the
job done. The immigrant could get his visa, but disappear from our brainpower
pool. The highly paid employee would be underutilized for his skills, and pine
to get the job he truly wants, but is now out of his reach. And the country, and
we, are poorer because of these.
Today, the nation needs brave,
defiant pioneers to reverse our nation’s slide to despair. Today, we must call
upon the spirit that beat the tracks. Today, we must present an alternative way
of doing things.
Do NOT just take courage, for courage is not
enough. Instead, be BRAVE! It will take bravery to go against popular wisdom,
against the clichéd expectations of family and friends. It will take bravery to
gamble your future by staying in the country and try to make a prosperous life
here. It might help if for a start, we try to see why our Korean friends are
flocking to our country. Why, as many of us line up for immigrant visas in
various embassies, they get themselves naturalized and settle here. Do they know
something we don’t?
Do NOT just be strong in your convictions,
for strength is not enough. Instead, DEFY the pressure to lead a comfortable,
but middling life. Let us lead this country from the despair of mediocrity. Let
us not seek to do well, but strive to EXCEL in everything that we do. This, so
others will see us as a nation of brains of the highest quality, not just of
brawn that could be had for cheap.
Take NOT the road less
traveled. Rather, MAKE new roads, BLAZE new trails, FIND new routes to your
dreams. Unlike the track-beaters in campus who see where they’re going, we may
not know how far we can go. But if we are brave, defiant searchers of
excellence, we will go far. Explore possibilities, that others may get a similar
chance. I have tried it myself. And I’m speaking to you now.
But
talk is cheap, they say. And so I put my money where my mouth is. Today, I place
myself in the service of the University, if it will have me. I would like to
teach, to share knowledge, and perhaps to be an example to new UP students in
thinking and striving beyond the limits of the possible. This may only be a
small disturbance in the grass. But I hope you’ll come with me, and trample a
new path.
Good evening, everyone.
By Mikaela
Irene Fudolig
UP Graduation 22 April 2007
Read my post previous to this. I wrote my say on the issue on the Nursing Board exam leakage. I said that I am for a "total retake." Then my cousin Baby Girl Fernando who recently had her oath gave her comment. Read on, it would give us a glimpse on their side of the issue - "mga inosente na pumasa" -- her insights are interesting and very informative:
Anyway, thanks ate naomi, tita Helen for all your support!hehehe I love you all and miss you sooo much! pls send our regards to everyone else especially to nanay... mwaaaahhhh! Hugz and Kisses!! :) Happy Halloween... :p
The article below is from PDI Oct 30, 2006 and posted in Friendster Bulletin by my cousin Baby-Girl Fernando...
Baby though you didn't say anything why you posted this article, I assume you are upset and sad about this consequence.
And if it is alright with you, may I share my opinion, regardless that you disagree. I think it would be better if you retake the board exam. Actually I think it would be better if there is a total retake of passers. And I now that many of you did not cheat. I know you did not cheat. However the system was tainted... and as a consquence, even if some takers like you did not cheat, once you participate in a system that was tainted, you will come out tainted as well.
Sobrang I felt for you when I heard from my mom that you were crying due to the delays and the "almost no-oath-taking and total retake decision of the CA." I had a sigh of relief too that the oath-taking pushed through, because I know a great deal of anxiety was taken over your shoulders. However, you must learn to deal with the consequences. One of my assumptions when the court decides in your favor, is that many of you who passed the board exam and will take your oath will be attached to the stigma that you are a participant of the tainted 2006 nursing board exam. People will be strict in hiring you. "Teka muna, tatanggapin ba natin agad yan e taker yan sa year na may cheating sa Pilipinas," baka sabhin pa ito ng isang agency na kahit kapwa Pilipino mo pa ang may ari.
I know you did not cheat, but if I were in your position I will take it again, only to remove the stain that I participated in a system that was tainted. I know that my position will be strongly opposed by many, but to those who did not cheat will still be in the losing end because regardless you have no fault in this, nadamay parin kayo dahil nga kasama kayo sa sistema na pandaraya. Many say that the burden of preparing for the exam was so stressful, that no money or price can compensate it. However being a nurse is stressful itself, and everything about being a nurse and the process of becoming a nurse graduate is alread stressful, I don't think preparing for a few months for the exam would be any different.
And naisip ko rin, may makakalusot parin na taker na cheater -- na
sumama sa oath. It is not impossible that a taker from the most remote
area could have access to the leak, considering the technology we have
now. A cheater in Baguio could simply scan the kodigo, then fax or
email it to friends.. then these friends will send it to their
friends.. and another set of friends and another and another. All I
mean is -- it is not impossible for a test-taker to have access to it
even if they do not belong to the areas identified by the CA who need
to retake it. -- this is the very reason why the US tightens screening of 2006 nursing board.
Also, when the nursing
leak was fresh on the pages, my initial reaction was - "Naku, patay
ang mga pasyente" -- why? Because the nursing board exam determines if
the nursing graduate is capable of practicing as a nurse, of practicing
the profession which deals to the very lives and health of people.
What if an extraneous taker (who had low grades, poor training, from
one of the lowest standard nursing schools) passed not because of his
ability but because he cheated, -- would you allow your sick mother,
sister, grandfather, or child to be taken care of such nurse passer?
Ako personally ayaw ko, dahil gusto ko yung nurse, competent. And the
board exam determines your competency, pero mahirap na kahit pumasa ka
pa because of your ability, kasi may duda sa iyo ang mga agencies at
mga screening chuva eklats na maghuhusga kung tatanggapin ka ba o hindi.
Pero kung ano man ang desisyon mo, suportahan ka namin, at we will pray that you won't be prejudiced through the grace of God. :0) Wala namang imposible sa pananampalataya.
====================================
US tightens screening of 2006 nursing board passers
By Christian V. Esguerra
Inquirer
Last updated 08:53pm (Mla time) 10/30/2006
DOES the stigma attached to the country's latest
batch of nurses remain?
An American organization that determines the
eligibility of foreign-trained nurses to work in the
United States is not about to accept - just yet -
applicants from among the passers of the tainted
June 2006 nursing licensure exams.
In a statement posted at its website, the
Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing
Schools (CGFNS) said it was still
reviewing "whether the licensure process followed
in light of the challenged results of the June 2006
exam is comparable with that required for
nurses licensed in America, as required by U.S.
law."
After the evaluation, the CGFNS said it would
determine "in the near future" whether the June
batch applicants were eligible for VisaScreen
certification.
VisaScreen refers to the program offered by the
CGFNS' International Commission on Healthcare
Professions that helps foreign health care
professionals qualify for certain occupational visas.
It does so by "verifying and evaluating their
credentials to ensure that they meet the
government's minimum eligibility standards."
"Any VisaScreen applications that CGFNS
receives from June 2006 passers will be accepted
but deferred for a final decision until this
assessment process is complete," the CGFNS
said in the statement.
"If the assessment concludes that the license is
not comparable, the VisaScreen application from a
June 2006 passer will be denied."
Professor Zenaida Famorca of the University of
Santo Tomas' College of Nursing said Monday this
was the first time that the CGFNS came up with
such a condition for Filipino nurses.
"We never had this in the past, especially since
our nursing education system in the Philippines is
very similar to that in the US," she told the Inquirer.
The CGFNS provides the certification exam usually
required by many American states before foreign
nurses could take the National Council Licensure
Examination (NCLEX) administered by the National
Council of State Boards of Nursing.
The CGFNS said it arrived at its decision on the
June passers following a meeting of its board of
trustees last October 22 and 23.
The agenda was "whether Philippine nurses who
have passed the Professional Regulation
Commission's June 2006 nursing licensing exam
are eligible for VisaScreen certification."
"This is precisely the kind of reaction from would-
be employers that we worked so hard to prevent,"
said Famorca whose college -- along with
representatives of the University of the Philippines,
University of the East, and the Far Eastern
University -- favored a total
retake.
Considering the circumstances, she said it was
ironic that those who actually flunked in the June
exams were luckier since they weren't among the
applicants being watched by the CGFNS.
"Lucky for them, they don't have the stigma
because they're not part of the batch in question,"
she said.
A nursing graduate of a Quezon City school who
landed in the June exams' top ten said she was
not surprised with the CGFNS decision.
"Just as I expected, after all this, our application
for the US remained blocked because of this
controversy," she said.
The newly-licensed nurse blamed the Court of
Appeals for deciding against an unconditional
retake for all examinees "as if no leakage had
happened."
"We really can't pretend that no leakage
happened," she said. "We didn't do anything about
it on our own so now, the US is going to do
something about it. If we had all taken the exams
again months ago, this would have been a non-
issue now."
Last week, the appellate court gave the go-signal
for the oath-taking of 17,000 June passers,
following a five-hour conciliation talk with different
stakeholders.
Among them were representatives from the PRC,
Board of Nursing, Office of the Solicitor General,
and some petitioners who had asked the CA to
reconsider its Oct. 13 decision for a selective
retake.
In the decision, the CA said only the 1,687
examinees, whose names were added in the list of
passers after a recomputation of tests scores,
were to take Tests III and V again.
Copyright 2006 Inquirer. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast,
rewritten or redistributed.
My friendster is for people I know and don't know (and hopefully to know and meet them in the future), while my multiply is for people I know. Thanks.
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