MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines' ambassador to the United States is urging American licensure authorities to defer the implementation of a 1-year ban on Filipino physical therapy (PT) graduates who want to take the US National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE).

In a press release, Philippine Ambassador to the US Willy Gaa said he is asking the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy, which administers the NPTE, to allow Filipino PT graduates who are already in the US to take the test.

The FSBPT earlier announced it is suspending the licensure tests for PT graduates from the Philippines, Egypt, India, and Pakistan until fall of next year after discovering "systematic and methodical sharing of recalled questions by significant numbers of graduates of programs in the affected countries."

The organization said it imposed the ban on Filipino PT graduates after discovering that St. Louis Review Center in Manila was sharing "hundreds of live test items" to students who were taking up their review classes.

The FSBPT is pursuing a lawsuit against the center and its alleged owners/operators, Gerard L. Martin, Roger P. Tong-an and Carlito Balita.

Gaa, however, noted that only St. Louis Review Center was involved in the alleged leakage of test questions out of the many review centers and prestigious Philippine colleges and universities that have their own review facilities.

He said he has requested a meeting with FSBPT officials, particularly its CEO William Hatherill, to discuss the impact of the suspension on the Filipino physical therapy graduates due to take the NPTE. 

In his letter to Hatherill, Gaa lamented that the decision could adversely affect the careers and employment opportunities of physical therapy graduates from the Philippines. He pointed out the benefits that the American population has been deriving from the investment by the Philippines' educational and training institutions in preparing healthcare practitioners for their jobs.
 
Over 1,300 Filipino PTs were deployed to the US from 2007 to 2009, according to Philippine Labor Department records.