Sotto wants free medical course in the Philippines

In a bid to address the worsening shortage and "maldistribution" of physicians in the country, Senator Vicente C. Sotto III has filed a bill that will provide medical scholarships in state colleges and universities for deserving medical students.

The Senate Bill No. 1232 seeks to address the issue of scarcity and strategic spread of physicians because granting scholarships would aid in the increase in the number of doctors in the country.

Sotto explained a specific condition stipulated in the bill which states that immediately after graduating from the program, the scholar must work in the country for five (5) years, two (2) years of which must be rendered in a government hospital or office where he/she resides.

"This would hopefully put a sense of balance in the distribution of doctors particularly in the government sector, which takes care of nearly 70% of the health care demand of the population," Sotto said, adding that "the cause of uneven distribution of physicians in the Philippine is because most of the doctors prefer to practice in urban areas than in the rural."

In a statement given by the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) in 2014, it projected that the shortage is expected to reach 930,000 when the country's population reaches 100 million - considering that the "internationally-suggested" ratio is one doctor per 100 population .

Sotto said as of January 01, 2016, the population of Philippines was estimated to be 101,498,763 people; thus, the predicted shortage by the PMA in 2014 is not anymore a forecast but a reality - reality that has to be faced and solved head-on.

Under the Bill, the aspiring medical student who wished to apply for the scholarship is required to meet several conditions such as, but not limited to, he/she must belong to the top twenty per centum (20%) of the graduating batch; and that the personal and/or family's income must not be sufficient to support the aspiring medical student's education.

The scholarship grant shall include expenses for, among others, tuition, laboratory and miscellaneous fees; required textbooks, school supplies and equipment; clothing and uniform allowances; traveling expenses; board and lodging expenses; and subsistence and living allowances.