Iligan City Rep. Frederick Siao is batting for the gradual opening of school campuses amid the COVID-19 pandemic as venues for licensure examinations.
"Board exams can resume safely in MGCQ (modified general community quarantine) areas and in more spacious locations so that up to two meters of physical distancing can be followed, along with the use of face masks, face shields, and other precautions," Siao said in a statement Tuesday.
Siao, chairman of the House Committee on Professional Regulation, said the campuses of state universities and colleges (SUCs) would be well-suited for the conduct of safe board exams.
Practically the entire country is under MGCQ, except for Metro Manila, Batangas, Iloilo City, Tacloban City, Lanao del Sur, Iligan, Davao City. These seven locations are under the slightly more stringent GCQ.
In the same statement, the Mindanao lawmaker expressed concern over the effects that a prolonged suspension of board exams could have on the country.
"One year of suspended board exams is understandable and would have minimal impact on the supply of licensed professionals. However, two years of having no board exams would have adverse impact on the workforce, companies, and the economy," he pointed out.
Among the programs that could suffer is President Duterte's flagship infrastructure modernization program dubbed "Build, Build, Build."
"We have manpower shortages and oversupply. The shortages are what I am worried about," said Siao, who is among the solons down south eagerly awaiting the construction of the ambitious Mindanao Railway Project (MRP).
The MRP is just one of many big ticket projects under Build, Build, Build, on top of being a Duterte administration promise.
"All those Build, Build, Build and housing backlogs need engineers, architects, master plumbers, and master electricians. Two years of no board exams for those professions will be felt at workplaces everywhere," Siao stressed.