RIYADH, 8 July 2004 — Filipinos hoping to take the Philippine mechanical and electrical engineering licensure examinations scheduled July 15 will have to wait some more, the Philippine Embassy said yesterday.
In a press statement, the embassy said it was informed that the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) in Manila has reset the examinations pending completion by many applicants of documentary requirements.
PRC chair Antonieta Fortuna-Ibe bas assured that the examinations will be held before the year ends or earlier “if the security would warrant and the expected number of applicants are able to comply with the requirements.”
Ibe also said it will also depend on whether the PRC would be allotted the 1.7-million pesos (about $30,000) for the plane tickets and accommodation expenses of the examiners, according to the statement.
The PRC had been giving licensure tests for Filipino mechanical, electrical and civil engineers in the Kingdom the past years until Ibe stopped this 2002, saying that the commission does not have a mandate to conduct licensure tests abroad.
When Senate President Franklin Drilon assured her that the commission has legal authority to give the tests overseas, Ibe said the PRC did not have the necessary funding.
Drilon then allocated part of her port barrel share to finance the project, saying that the outreach examinations was the government’s way of helping its “new heroes” advance professionally.
Ibe then agreed but she set the condition that there should be at least 150 examinees from each profession, a quota the engineers and accountant groups in the Kingdom said was impossible to meet.
Ibe had been seen in a negative light by those affected by her adamance, notwithstanding pressures from well-meaning politicians such as Drilon.
Arab News has learned, however, that Ibe’s refusal to budge was because of her concern the OFW examinees were being made to shell out the expenses of the examiners. Such an arrangement was not only unfair to the examinees but also opened an avenue for corruption, sources from the PRC and the engineering community said.
“It’s unfair to everyone because even if there was absolutely no cheating involved, the passers of the exams would always be under a cloud of doubt, especially if they happened to all pass,” said one community leader.
