One too often gets the feeling, and I've occasionally written about it, that our so-called public servants in government can be such experts in constantly finding ways to make life more difficult for us Filipinos. Filipino nurses, now hailed overseas as heroes and profusely thanked in countries they serve in, are yet another group badly mistreated by their own government, especially at this time that they are literally forced to offer their very lives, and for so little at that.Early in the ongoing pandemic crisis, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) suddenly prohibited health workers from leaving the country, spanning repairmen of medical and hospital equipment, nurses, pharmacists, physicians, molecular biologists, and more. The single biggest group affected was nurses, of whom there are an estimated 500,000 in the country, with about 38,000 added annually.