MANILA, Philippines – Humihiling si Senador Joel Villanueva ng mas mataas na pondo para sa pagtatayo ng mga medikal na paaralan sa mga state universities and colleges (SUCs) sa buong bansa upang mas marami pang scholars ang mapabilang sa ilalim ng Doktor para sa Bayan law.
Ayon kay Villanueva, nanatili sa PHP150 milyon ang seed fund para sa mga SUC medical schools sa 2026 National Expenditure Program, katulad ng halaga noong 2021.
“It’s just that when you look at the budget for this year, for 2025, we only allotted PHP150 million for the fund. It’s a stark decrease from the amounts we allotted for Fiscal Year 2022, 2023, and 2024,” sabi niya.
“And despite the increase in the number of higher education institutions that are offering medicine, it seems this program won’t have a bright future with the way it is being funded.”
“We must show that we are ready to support the needs of SUCs when it comes to funding. If we have one medical school per region and it becomes a center of excellence, our scholars will not hesitate to go there and study, instead of leaving their respective regions,” dagdag pa niya.
Ipinanukala ni Senador Sherwin Gatchalian ang pagtaas ng seed fund sa P440 milyon upang palawakin ang kakayahan ng CHED na magtayo ng medikal na paaralan sa iba’t ibang rehiyon ng bansa. RNT
