TMCnet News
No greener pasture for topnotcher(Philippine Daily Inquirer Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) THE GRASS OUTSIDE THE Philippines is not always greener. So Elmer Jacinto, the topnotcher in the 2004 medical board exams who decided to leave for the United States and work as a nurse instead, has realized. A 30-year-old native of Lamitan, Basilan, who graduated magna cum laude from the Our Lady of Fatima Universitys College of Medicine in Valenzuela City, Jacinto flew to New York after taking his oath two years ago. Jacinto, who finished his pre-med course of nursing at the Western Mindanao State University, cum laude, landed a job that dismally fell short of his expectations, way below what his placement firm, Sentosa Recruitment Agency, had promised him. Now, he and 27 other Filipino nurses recruited by Sentosa are locked in a legal battle in New York. Like Jacinto, most of the nurses are licensed doctors in the Philippines. They are now deployed at various health facilities in New York. Jacinto and his colleagues complained that they did not get the promised salary of between $21 and $35 an hour. They also failed to get other benefits, which were specified in their employment contract, like relocation and housing allowance, free malpractice insurance, free airfare from Manila to New York, pay differential for night shift duty, and flexible work schedule from eight to 12 hours. Living in abandoned houses Aside from being underpaid, the nurses complained of being overworked. Each of them is required to attend to 35 patients round the clock, instead of the ideal ratio of six patients per nurse. Short of cash in the Big Apple, Jacinto and his colleagues now live in leaking abandoned house(s), located possibly in dark alleys of the city, which they had to furnish by scrounging around for utensils, chairs and other things thrown away by other people. This was how lawyers Felix Vinluan in New York and Tim Calumpong in Manila painted the lives of Jacinto and the other nurses who banded together and, in desperation, sought legal help to renounce their contract with Sentosa and its US-based partner, Sentosa Bent Philipson. Vinluan flew to Manila and met with Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. on Aug. 27 to seek help in prosecuting the local recruitment agency. Cabinet official intervenes As a result of the complaint, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) suspended the license of the local Sentosa firm in May, but the penalty was lifted less than a month later after a powerful Cabinet official intervened on its behalf. Pimentel is set to deliver a privilege speech today at the Senate not only to dramatize the plight of the nurses, but also to denounce and name the Cabinet official. Unknown to the nurses, Pimentel said, the Cabinet official, whom he described as an all-around factotum of President Macapagal-Arroyo, pulled strings to put none-too-subtle pressure on the POEA and the Philippine Consulate in New York to force the nurses to back off from the case. I cannot understand how in the world a department secretary could have the gall to act in a manner that in effect obstructs the interest of justice and causes prejudice to the interest of the people he is sworn to serve, the senator told the Inquirer. That is something that we probably will never know under this government whose penchant for the suppression of information knows no bounds and whose desire to confuse the people equals the despotically deceptive record of the martial law regime, he said. 4 from Mindanao Pimentel showed particular interest in the case because four of the nurses hailed from Mindanao. In addition, the senator, who is from Mindanao, was the guest of honor at the oath-taking of Jacinto and other new doctors in March 2004. Jacinto was a consistent scholar and honor student. He scored 86.75 percent in the medical boards, topping the field of 1,825 examinees, only 948 of whom had passed. While it pains me to do so, Jacinto would later tell the Inquirer, Im looking forward to going abroad and not let the opportunity pass. If only the [job] market for medicine graduates was good here. In his speech at the oath-taking rites, Pimentel told Jacinto and the other new doctors that he couldnt begrudge them their plans of going abroad. Still, he appealed to them to stay and share their knowledge with their poor countrymen, especially those in the countryside. Sorrow-filled story Pimentel said he felt more pain today than when he first got to know Jacinto during the oath-taking. This is a sorrow-filled story of some of the best and the brightest of our medical professionals who were lured by the promise of a better life out of the country. They have found out for themselves that the honeyed words they had relied upon were laced with large doses of bitter circumstances when they disembarked on the shores of the promised land, he said. Aside from Jacinto, the other alleged victims of the recruitment agency were Juliet M. Anilao of Zambales; Harriet Avila of Tacloban City; Dulce Corazon Bayot of Tagaytay City; Archiel B. Buagas of Ginatilan, Cebu; Annabelle R. Capulong, Marites Chan, Maritoni S. de la Rosa and Alipio Esguerra, all of Manila; Maricelle M. Dealo of Pasay City; Fe L. Cinco of Medina, Misamis Oriental; Mark M. del Cruz of Zamboanga City; Claudine B. Gamiao of Quezon City; Carlo Conrad Garcia of Cebu City; Eduardo C. Ilagan of Daet, Camarines Norte; Cecille L. Jayo of Makati; Jennifer P. Lampa of Manila; Eileen S. Magnaye of Valenzuela City; Rizza P. Mauilion of Batangas; James B. Millena of Legazpi City; Rhean Kissete Montecillo of Cebu City; Mitzi Ann Ong of Cagayan de Oro City; Noralyn O. Ortega of Manila; Louella R. Paglinawan of Masbate; Dondon D. Parungao of Solano, Nueva Vizcaya; Ma. Theresa G. Ramos of San Rafael, Bulacan; Ritchel P. Salve of Bantayan, Cebu, and Ranier C. Sichon of Kawit, Cavite. More distressing Pimentel said he took pains to put on record the victims places of origin so that those of us who come from the same places may better empathize with their problem because we might know them personally or their parents and relatives. While I understand the reason for [going abroad], I think it is even more distressing to witness the sad spectacle of some people taking up medicine as a pre-course before they become nurses, just so they can reach the promised land where they think the grass is greener than our locally grown ones, he said. My regret is that they had to leave the country at all at a time when our people need them the most. Unfortunately, the nurses we speak of have found to their discomfiture that the grass there is even browner, more parched and drier than ours, he said. Copyright 2006 Philippine Daily Inquirer. Source : Financial Times Information Limited (Trademark) |