Mar On the Confirmation of Labor Secretary Arturo D. Brion

Labor Secretary Arturo Brion is a welcome addition to the Cabinet given his wealth of experience in labor relations and his stature as a legal luminary. As a protg of the late Secretary Blas F. Ople, he has seen the labor department and its overseas employment program grow through the years.

I am confident that the Secretary will act fairly and responsibly in deciding the outcome of the 2006 nursing examinations, as well as in restoring the credibility of our licensure and accreditation system through the Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC) which is now attached to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

I reiterate my earlier position that the real victims in the retake controversy are the nursing graduates who studied hard and spent hard-earned resources in preparation for the board exams. The government has a duty to these students and their parents to resolve this issue with great speed and utmost fairness, at no additional cost to those who took the board exams, and who now face an uncertain future because of it.

Meanwhile, I hope that the labor secretary will do his utmost to ensure the welfare and protection of our overseas workers in all parts of the world, particularly in South Korea where tensions are now high due to the recent nuclear test of the North Korean government. I welcome the Secretarys assurance that a contingency plan is in place and that he is scheduled to leave for South Korea soon to visit our workers there.