Over P1-B allocated for additional medicine programs in SUCs, lawmaker says

More than P1 billion has been allocated to establish additional medical schools in state universities and colleges (SUCs) to address the persistent shortage of healthcare professionals in the country.

According to Quezon City Rep. Marvin Rillo, vice chairperson of the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education, the amount represents the total funds allocated by Congress since 2021 for the development of new colleges of medicine in SUCs, with an additional P150 million in this year’s budget.

“The seed money will support the new schools of medicine in our SUCs, helping them develop their capacity to provide instruction, acquire teaching materials, upgrade libraries, and build advanced laboratory facilities,” Rillo said.

He emphasized that “Congress is committed to fully developing our new schools of medicine in SUCs to enable the country to train and produce more physicians.”

Although the Philippines is known as one of the top suppliers of physicians and nurses globally, the country faces a deficit of healthcare professionals due to factors such as low salaries and poor working conditions, leaving local hospitals short-staffed.

As of 2024, the Philippines is facing a shortage of 190,000 medical professionals, which would take 12 to 23 years to address for both nurses and doctors, respectively.

The country’s doctor-to-population ratio is precariously low, with around 3.6 doctors for every 10,000 people, far below the World Health Organization-prescribed ratio of 1 doctor for every 1,000 people.

“We need more physicians to meet the growing demand of Filipinos for improved health outcomes,” Rillo said.

The lawmaker noted that the current Congress has passed five laws creating new colleges of medicine at Benguet State University, Southern Luzon State University, University of Eastern Philippines, Visayas State University, and Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University.

Meanwhile, at least nine bills seeking to create additional schools of medicine in various SUCs, including the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Quezon City, Eastern Samar State University, and Mindanao State University, are currently pending in the House.

Recently, Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to certify these bills as urgent, citing the need for a constant supply of new medical doctors to replace those retiring or migrating overseas.

A 2024 data from United States-based remittance service Remitly showed that one in seven immigrant healthcare workers in the US are Filipinos, accounting for 13 percent of immigrant healthcare professionals there.

Previously, the Department of Health projected that the scarcity of healthcare workers would be the “major roadblock” to making Filipinos among the healthiest people in Asia by 2040.