Villar apologizes to Pinoy nurses

MANILA, Philippines - Senatorial aspirant Cynthia Villar yesterday apologized to Filipino nurses for her remarks that tended to put them and the nursing profession down.

“If they felt offended, I apologize,” Villar said in a television interview, adding she did not intend to diminish the importance of nurses and the health care profession in general.

“I would be the last to do so since my father was a doctor,” the Team PNoy senatorial candidate said.

Villar incurred the nurses’ ire when she declared that they did not need a nursing degree because many of them just ended up as “room nurses,” taking care of the elderly.

She explained that what she meant was that those who could not obtain a nursing degree or did not pass the licensure examination could work as nursing aides or assistants. She later said she failed to expound on her statement because of time constraints.

Her remarks went viral in social media, with Filipino nurses chiding her.