Western Samar. INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) has granted a state university in Western Samar to begin offering a medical degree program, marking it the first of its kind in the province.
According to CHEd, it approved Samar State University’s (SSU) application for government authority to operate the Doctor of Medicine program at its Samar Island Institute of Medicine (SIIM).
“The expansion of medical education in Samar will facilitate the implementation of Republic Act No. 11509 or the ‘Doktor Para sa Bayan law’ as there is no state college or university in Eastern Visayas where poor but deserving students can become doctors,” said CHED Secretary Prospero de Vera in a recent statement.
READ: Bulacan State U welcomes first batch of med scholars
The “Doktor Para sa Bayan” is a law aimed to produce more physicians in the country by offering qualified candidates free tuition and other allowances in exchange for serving in public health facilities for at least one year for every year of scholarship.
De Vera said SIIM is the 20th medical program approved by the agency in public universities.
SSU president Marilyn Cardodo, for her part, marked the approval as a “significant milestone” for the university.
“The program is more than just an addition to our academic offerings; it represents SSU’s commitment to rewriting the narrative of Samar, to transform the healthcare landscape, and to ensure that the peoples of Samar and beyond will have access to world-class medical training and care. It is a testimony of our shared aspirations turning into reality,” she said.
READ: CHEd launches review of SUC policies on student admission, retention
Samar Province Governor Sharee Ann Tan, meanwhile, celebrated how Samar will now be able to produce its own home-grown doctors and specialists.
The governor’s brother, Samar 2nd District Rep. Michael Tan, shared similar sentiments, tagging the milestone as a “dream come true for Samarnons.”
According to CHEd, before the passage of the Doktor Para sa Bayan law, only eight SUCs had medical schools — five of which were in Luzon, two in the Visayas and one in Mindanao.
With the law, eight SUCs in Luzon, five in Visayas and seven in Mindanao now offer their respective medical programs.
So far, a total of 2,689 currently enjoy scholarships in public and private-partner medical schools in the country under the Doktor Para sa Bayan law.