Hopes rise as the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announces today, November 26, 2020 the new batch of Physician Licensure Examination (PLE) passers, ready to join the battle against COVID-19, after hurdling the challenges of the four-day examination that took place last November 10, 11, 15, and 16, 2020.
Despite the continuous threats of the global pandemic, the PRC and the Professional Regulatory Board of Medicine successfully administered the 2020 PLE nationwide. The participating regions were: National Capital Region with 2,689 examinees; Region II (Tuguegarao) with 95 examinees; Region IV-A (Lucena) with 45 examinees; Region V (Legaspi) with 107 examinees; Region VI (Iloilo) with 50 examinees; Region VII (Cebu) with 124 examinees; Region VIII (Tacloban) with 258 examinees; Region IX (Zamboanga) with 21 examinees; Region X (Cagayan De Oro) with 220 examinees; and Regions XI (Davao) with 391 examinees. However, due to Typhoon Ulysses the conduct of the second part of examination in Tuguegarao was cancelled.
Preparatory to the conduct of the said PLE, the PRC and the Professional Regulatory Board of Medicine (PRB-MED) conducted a public information drive on the requirements of the PLE through tri-media involvement, and required all the examinees, as well as the PRC examination personnel to undergo mandatory COVID-19 confirmatory testing or to complete a 14-day quarantine. In addition, health and safety protocols including the minimum health standards set by the Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) and the Department of Health (DOH) were implemented and strictly observed to guarantee the safety of the examinees and the examination personnel.
The success of the PLE was made possible through the commendable assistance and support of the participating PRC Regional Offices, Department of Health (DOH), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Philippine National Police (PNP), Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, LGUs, participating government hospitals, and other relevant government and private organizations.
Indeed, today marks a celebration of hope as the three thousand five hundred thirty-eight (3, 538) new PLE passers will surely augment the insufficient number of healthcare professionals in the country. Right now, health-related challenges may seem turbulent, but the PRC is confident that the will to help and compassion to serve of these new Medical Doctors will remain unshaken.
For the complete list of passers, please follow this link.
