Additional colleges of medicine are soon to be established in various parts of the country once the House Bills, which seek to establish them, become law. These colleges of medicine will be set up within five state universities recognized as centers of excellence due to their consistent outstanding performance in board examinations, as well as their research and innovation endeavors.
These institutions include Benguet State University in the Cordilleras, Southern Luzon State University in Quezon Province, University of Eastern Philippines in Northern Samar, Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University in La Union, and Visayas State University in Southern Leyte. These measures align with the goals of the Universal Health Care Act, which aims to make healthcare accessible, affordable, and readily available.
In presenting the House bills in the Senate, Senator Chiz Escudero, chairperson of the Committee on Higher, Technical and Vocational Education, revealed that even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Health Secretary had stated that the country faced a shortage of 114,000 doctors.
Senator Villanueva, in his cosponsorship speech, highlighted that when Congress began deliberations on the Doktor Para sa Bayan Law in 2020, there were only eight state universities and colleges (SUCs) in the country offering Schools of Medicine, located in eight SUCs spanning seven regions. Now, there are 17 SUCs spread across 13 regions.
He also pointed out that the Philippines currently has only 3.7 doctors for every 10,000 Filipinos, well below the WHO’s ideal ratio. He also disclosed that there is an issue with the uneven geographical distribution of doctors. For instance, in the National Capital Region (NCR), the ratio is 10 doctors per 10,000 Filipinos, while in the BARMM Region, there are only 0.8 doctors for every 10,000 individuals, as indicated in a 2020 study.
During the Senate’s consideration of these measures, it was disclosed that the program is currently offered in 16 private schools and 16 state universities, with funded slots for 3,600 scholars this year. If these five bills become law, there will be a total of 21 colleges of medicine distributed across regions and areas with a pressing need for doctors.
We hope to see these House bills swiftly approved to address the critical shortage of doctors in the country. (Insites by: JOSEPHINE CODILLA)
