To provide opportunity to the aspiring doctors among the people of Benguet and its neighboring provinces to acquire quality medical education and training at a reduced cost, Benguet Representative Eric Yap has filed a bill establishing a College of Medicine in La Trinidad.

Yap filed House Bill 312 which seeks to establish a College of Medicine in the Benguet State University in La Trinidad, which is to be known as Benguet State University College of Medicine.

The World Bank outlined that there should at least be one physician for every 1,000 Filipinos and in line with this, it resulted in the passage of the Doktor Para sa Bayan Act, which established a medical scholarship and return service program for deserving students in the State Universities and Colleges, in order to remedy the shortage of doctors in the country.

"However, the passage of the said legislation would not be prudent if providing more accessible institutions especially in far-flung rural areas such as Benguet and its neighboring provinces in the Cordillera Administrative Region is not met," Yap said.

He added that the Benguet State University has recently been awarded SUC Level IV, the highest category in the SUC leveling classification of state universities and colleges by the Commission on Higher Education. But despite this, a medical school has not been established in the university.

Yap also said that last year, the Association of Philippine Medical Colleges noted that only two out of 58 medical colleges are found in the CAR.

"Hence, the lack of medical institutions in the region results in high cost of medical education, consisting of transportation and accommodation allowance, for aspiring doctors, including my constituents," said Yap.

HB 312 also provides that the BSU College of Medicine would primarily offer a Doctor of Medicine program, including the Integrated Liberal Arts and Medicine, consisting of basic science and clinical courses, and using learner-centered and competency-based approach.

"The primary goal of the College shall be to develop a corps of professional physicians to strengthen the healthcare system of the country, as well as to respond to the needs for human resource development of the Province of Benguet and the CAR," Yap said.

The BSU College of Medicine is also expected to provide scholarships and other affirmative action programs to assist poor but deserving students who qualify for the admission to the College, the lawmaker added.