Filipina Soul

The case of the Sentosa nurses has been in the news for a while now. The case revolves around 26 nurses and 1 physical therapist recruited from the Philippines through the Sentosa Recruitment Agency.

The “Sentosa 27″, as they came to be called, were brought to the U.S. in 2004 and 2005 for employment in various medical facilities. They eventually resigned from their posts en masse, alleging serious complaints and labor law violations against their employer. The case eventually involved the POEA, the U.S. Department of Justice and other offices. Each side has alleged that violations were made by other party.

To catch up on the story, the following articles would be a great start:

* Broken dreams and promises, power politics, grief are all in this telenovela (via Manila Times)

* Court upholds charges against Filipino nurses (via Newsday)

* The facts behind the Sentosa 27 (via PNA-NY)

* State clears Filipino nurses of wrongdoing (via Newsday)

* No problems with most of Sentosa nurses (via Manila Times)

The latest in the line of articles is this press release: Sentosa Finally Sees Truth About Nurses Slowly Come to Light (via PRWeb). According to this article, the charges against the Sentosa Recruitment Agency brought before the Philippine Department of Justice, the National Labor Relations Commission in Manila, the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency, and the United States Department of Justice were all dismissed. In other words, the Sentosa nurses did not prove that they were unfairly treated by their employers.

“This string of rulings proves that our client was not engaged in any illegal practices,” said Ibaro Relaminda Jr., Sentosa’s attorney based in the Philippines. “It also proves that the nurses were lying in their statements about maltreatment.”

With the unfurling of truth in case after case, support for the nurses and their attorney, Felix Vinluan, both in the U.S. and in the Philippines, is now beginning to buckle under the weight of the facts.

The case of the Sentosa 27 already has serious repercussions on the image of Filipino nurses abroad.

As recently as February 28th the Philippine Nurses Association-United States (PNA-US) voiced its concern about the deteriorating sense of responsibility cropping up among some Filipino nurses as a result of the growing number of opportunities to work abroad.

It is an unfortunate and undeserved blight on the reputation of Filipino nurses in general. The actions of a few should not burden the thousands of Filipino nurses who do their work well, and are held in high esteem both by their colleagues and their employers.

Read more at: PRweb.com.