House minority leader wants urgent bill for state-funded medical schools

House Minority Leader Marcelino C. Libanan is pushing for President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to certify as urgent a legislative package that would enable ten government universities to offer medical degrees to state scholars.

Libanan highlighted that the Philippines faces a shortage of doctors, exacerbated by the high cost of medical education, which creates significant barriers for aspiring physicians.

He emphasized the need to democratize and expand access to state-subsidized medical schooling to increase the number of Doctor of Medicine graduates.

According to a 2022 report from the Philippine Health department, the country has only 3.6 doctors per 10,000 Filipinos, falling short of the World Health Organization's recommended ratio of 10 doctors per 10,000 citizens.

Currently, nine House bills propose the establishment of medical schools in various state colleges, including the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Mindanao State University, and the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines.