BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya (PIA) - - Health officials and medical professionals in Nueva Vizcaya lauded the provincial government's initiative to provide scholarship for poor but deserving medical students.

The provincial government recently passed an ordinance establishing the Nueva Vizcaya Medical Scholarship and Return Service Program, also known as the “Doktor ti Umili (Doctor of the Masses) Ordinance.”

The measure was authored by provincial board member Patricio Dumlao Jr. and was co-authored by board member Elma Pinao-an Lejao.

"This will ease the burden of poor families in supporting children who take up medical courses," said Dumlao.

He said the ordinance will ensure that parents will receive government assistance for board, lodging, and other expenses of students.

Dumlao noted that many poor families continue to be confronted with huge expenses for medical courses despite the implementation of Republic Act No. 10931, or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act and Republic Act No. 11509, or the “Doktor Para sa Bayan” Act.

He said the proposed measure will address the shortage of doctors in the province and "bridge the gap and improve the delivery of basic medical services."

During the Senate hearing on the proposed bill for medical scholarship, Senator Joel Villanueva, chairman of the Senate Committee on Labor, said the country needs 79,589 more doctors to achieve the ideal ratio of 10 physicians for every 10,000 individuals.

Of the 84,662 licensed doctors in the country, only 28,428 are working as physicians while 65,234 others either went abroad to work or are no longer practicing the profession.

Villanueva said the 28,000 practicing physicians, nearly half, or 10,197, of them are located in Metro Manila.

Jan Tugadi, provincial coordinator of the Department of Health, welcomed the passage of the ordinance.

“I hope that this will produce more medical professionals, especially medical specialists that we need in our public hospitals,” said Tugadi.

He said the province has only 15 Public Health Doctors or Municipal Health Officers who are complemented by 12 doctors of the "Doctors to the Barrio" program of the Health department.

William Gurat of the Human Resource Section of the Region 2 Trauma and Medical Center in Bayombong town said the scholarship program is an opportunity for hospitals to fill in their 220 vacant positions.

Dr. Arlene Jara, head of the Nueva Vizcaya Provincial Hospital in Bambang town, said the ordinance will not only help augment the number of medical professionals but will also help the parents of the students.

She said the lack of medical specialists usually prompts them to refer patients to other hospitals. She said the NVPH is in need of surgeons, ophthalmologists, and pediatric doctors.  

Jara expressed optimism that beneficiaries of the scholarship program will fill up the ideal number of professional doctors in the province. (OTB and BME - PIA Region II)