Recto pushes for medical scholarship bill, wants it named after Juan Flavier

MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto on Sunday expressed hope that the government will not slash the budget of a proposed bill that seeks to grant aspiring Filipino doctors full scholarships.

In a statement, the Senate leader also proposed that the medical scholarship bill, or the “Doktor Para sa Bayan Act,” will be named after the late former Health Secretary and Senator Juan Flavier.

“But before we attach his great name to a great program, let us first make sure that the law’s maiden year of implementation is not marked by a budget cut,” Recto said.

Recto added that President Rodrigo Duterte should sign the bill next month “so whatever required funds to implement it can still be included in next year’s national budget.”

The “Doktor Para Sa Bayan Act” or Senate Bill No. 1520 was approved by the Senate on third and final reading last September.

The bill seeks to provide a medical scholarship and return service program for “deserving Filipino students”  in state universities and colleges (SUCs) and in partner private higher education institutions (PHEIs) in regions with no SUCs offering medicine.

However, Recto feared that the budget for the proposed measure may be cut after Malacañang proposed to slash this year’s P167 million financial subsidy to 1,789 medical scholars to P83.5 million next year, the amount in the Commission on Higher Education’s (CHED) proposed 2021 national budget.

Recto added that according to CHED, this year’s 167 million financial stipends to medical students in eight state universities have been impounded “for later release.”

Schools affected are the Bicol University, Cagayan State University, Mariano Marcos State University, Mindanao State University, University of Northern Philippines, UP Manila College of Medicine, UP Manila School of Health Sciences, and the Western Visayas State University.

Recto explained that the CHED scholarship program in eight SUCs is but one of the tracks the Congress–approved bill creates in producing doctors whose services are needed in the provinces, of which only 25 out of 81 have enough public doctors.

Another program is being run by the Department of Health (DOH), which had 1,142 scholars in various medical schools last year.

Under their contract, they shall “repay” their state-granted tuition and allowances by serving in rural areas after passing the board examinations.

“So more or less, the CHED and DOH tracks have a combined 3,000 beneficiaries. Dagdagan pa natin ito (Let us put more to this) by including financially-challenged but academically excelling medicine students in private schools,” he said.

/MUF