Senate ratifies "Doktor para sa Bayan Act"

The Senate has officially ratified the bill which would grant scholarships to qualified and deserving Filipino students who wish to enrol in medical courses today, October 15, 2020.

Senator Joel Villanueva, chairman of the Senate Committee on Higher, Technical, and Vocational Education and head of the Senate panel in the bicameral, described the "Doktor para sa Bayan Act" as a landmark legislation that will improve the Filipino people's access to free medical education and expands the country's human resources for public health.

"The coronavirus pandemic has only exposed and exacerbated the Achilles' heel of our healthcare system: the shrinking supply of Filipino medical doctors. Imagine, we only have 3 doctors per 10,000 populations, far from the ideal ratio of 10 doctors per 10,000 populations," said Villanueva.

In addition to this, Villanueva also said that because of today's ratification, we are able to give the next Filipino generation a better chance to win against diseases and other pandemics.

The program entails that the scholars shall finish the Doctor of Medicine Program within a prescribed time frame then render a return of service equivalent to the number of years he or she has availed of the scholarship.

Doctors who will refuse the mandatory return service shall pay back the total cost of their scholarship expenses.

Students who are under the existing medical scholarship programs of Department of Health and CHED shall automatically be eligible to avail the benefits.

Words by Jean Claire Peruda

Photo from Rappler