What was Gore about to say?

The President's Legal Adviser, Sergio Apostol has stated that there is no way that the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools of the United States will back down on its requirement that our nurses have to do a re-test if they had taken the tainted June 2006 examination. The chief of the Presidential Commission on Filipino Overseas, Dante Ang, has given virtually the same statement, and has openly discouraged further pleas and appeals to the U.S. body.

***

It is therefore puzzling that some officials, some of them from the Board of Nursing, seem to insist that they have to go to Philadelphia and "talk" to the CGFNS. Maybe such strategies will work with our agencies here, and maybe those officials think they can charm the American officials into flip-flopping over the issue. But the chief of the CGFNS, Barbara Nichols, has already declared that their decision if "final": those who want to get Visa Screens to be able to work in the U.S. must retake and pass the test.

***

The presidential lawyer was more humane in saying that we should not raise false hopes among the poor nurses who had already gone through the traumatic experience of having taken an examination that was later proven to have involved cheating, by way of a leakage of test questions. To the CGFNS people, it is either they retake and pass the tests, or they do not get to work in the U.S. I understand the agency has even warned the delegation poised for the free sortie to Philadelphia that their trip would be "useless". As for the travelers, they should be reminded that they may not get the pogi points they hope for in that trip.

***

Senator Ramon Magsaysay, who has been in the forefront of the case against the Fertilizer Man, Jocelyn Jocjoc Bolante, is now waiting for the deportation of the ex-Agriculture undersecretary to renew his probe into the infamous scam. And it is not only Magsaysay, various groups are also agitating for the investigation of the case which is said to involve some P728 million. But they may have to wait some more since Bolante may voluntarily seek to be deported to Indonesia where he has an influential Rotarian friend willing to accommodate him. And after Indonesia, he could still move on to another Asian country, and another where he can stay without a visa for a limited time. Meanwhile, the political seeds fed with P728 million worth of fertilizer should again be ready for harvesting in May.

***

I caught a portion of the Oscar Awards while it was being shown live on TV and got very interested in the portion where former presidential candidate Al Gore was giving a speech. This was after he got an award for his advocacy titled "The Inconvenient Truth" which is about preserving the environment and anticipating global warming effects. I was eager to hear what he had to say because it had been hinted in earlier reports that he might be persuaded to give the presidency another try.

***

So when Gore started to speak, I listened closely, but did not fail to note how much weight he had gained since the time he was a candidate, and when I saw him in person at an APEC meeting in Kuala Lumpur. Nowhere could I see the movie star good looks and glamour - I believe Bill Clinton has retained his aura better. Anyway, as he held up his trophy, Gore started to say something about it being the occasion for him to declare his intention to… when suddenly the band burst into a loud blast of music, drowning out whatever he intended to announce. Would he have said he was declaring his intention to run again? Anyway, he looked startled and looked around helplessly, and then, perhaps realizing that he had been censored, stepped down. Did the band anticipate that?

***

In Bacolod City, meanwhile, it is good to notice that the traffic people are trying to find ways to make driving easier, especially with the expected increase of vehicles when the new SM complex opens this week. But there are some very simple solutions that could be adopted to ease traffic flow more, and that is for the traffic enforcers to insist that vehicles turning right at the corners along main streets should not be plugged by those going straight. Obviously many, or most traffic enforcers do not know this. For that matter, the laziest enforcers are probably the ones usually assigned at the Lacson-Lizares intersection. While there are two or more of them assigned there, only one is directing traffic, the others are most of the time sitting under the waiting shed, or having snacks and chatting with people there. Calling Traffic Officer Pangue! You can check on this. And maybe other vital intersections, too.*

back to top