Gov’t Scholarship For Doctor Wannabes Now A Law: Here Are The Requirements

President Duterte has signed into law measures that seek to provide medical scholarship to deserving students, set up an alternative learning system for adults and out-of-school children, make certification for organic produce more affordable, and allow the Chief Executive to fast-track the processing of key documents during a national emergency.

The four laws were signed last Dec. 23.

Republic Act (RA) No. 11509 or the "Doktor Para sa Bayan Act" aims to establish a medical scholarship and return service program to help deserving students pursue medical education and training, and enable them to serve government public health offices or hospitals in their hometown or any underserved town.

The program will be established in state universities and colleges or in private partner higher education institutions in regions where there are no SUCs. Qualified applicants from municipalities without government physicians will be prioritized in the allocation for scholarship slots to ensure that there is at least one doctor for every town in the country.

The law mandates the acceptance of at least one scholar from each municipality of the country. But if no one is qualified in a certain municipality, other applicants will be considered.

Qualified students will be entitled to free tuition and other school fees; allowance for prescribed books, supplies, and equipment; clothing or uniform allowance, dormitory or boarding house accommodation allowance; transportation allowance; internship fees, medical board review fees; licensure fees; annual medical insurance; and other education-related miscellaneous subsistence or living allowances.

To be qualified, a student must be/have:

•  a Filipino citizen living in the Philippines
•  a graduating student or a graduate of an appropriate undergraduate program identified as a prerequisite for a medicine degree from any higher educational institution recognized by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED)
• passed the entrance examinations and complied with other requirements for admission into a medicine degree
• obtained a National Medical Admission test score mandated by CHED and required by the educational institution where the student intends to enroll in

A student will lose the scholarship if he/she:

• accepts another scholarship from other government or private entity
• fails to meet the academic requirements or to complete the course within the period prescribed by the school he is enrolled in without valid cause
• fails to obtain a passing grade in the physician licensure examination within five years from the time he has completed the mandatory internship program
• commits gross misconduct

After passing the physician licensure examination and the conferment of the license to practice, the scholar will become part of the public health and medical service system. The scholar will be required to:

• serve in a government public health office, government hospital, or any accredited government health facility in his hometown or in any underserved municipality closest to his hometown for at least one year for every scholarship year availed of

• render the mandatory return service within six years from the time of passing the licensure examination for those who have availed of a four-year program and seven years for those who have availed of a five-year program.

In times of pandemic or public health emergency, the health department may require the scholars to serve in any public health office or a government hospital where their services may be needed.

A physician who has availed of the program but fails or refuses to comply with the mandatory return service and integration will be required to pay two times the full cost of scholarship. If a physician does not pay the costs, his license would not be renewed but the provision does not apply to those who failed to comply with the required return service because of a serious illness.

Sen. Joel Villanueva, the sponsor of RA 11509 that was principally authored by Senate President Vicente Sotto III, said most of the country’s doctors are concentrated in urban centers like the National Capital Region where nearly 40 percent of the licensed physicians practice their profession.

In contrast, Region 4B (Mimaropa), Region 12 (Caraga) and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao have one doctor per 10,000 population.

The country needs to produce over 80,000 doctors to meet the World Health Organization-prescribed ratio of 10 doctors per 10,000 population.

Citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, Villanueva said some six out of 10 Filipinos die without seeing a doctor for treatment in the country.

Under this year’s national budget, Villanueva noted both CHED and the Department of Health were allocated P802 million to allow them to accommodate more scholars under the medical scholarship program. Congress also allocated P279 million for Cebu Normal University, University of Southeastern Philippines and Western Mindanao State University, which are all on track to open their own colleges of medicine this year.

Villanueva said CHED likewise got P150 million in its budget to assist other SUCs intending to establish their own medicine programs.

Quezon Rep. Angelina Tan, chairperson of the House committee on health and main author of the measure in the House of Representatives, said the law has become even more important in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I do not doubt that the enactment of this legislation, a complementary measure to the Universal Health Care Act of 2018, is one of the enormously significant health reform measures in the country which time has come,” Tan, a doctor by profession, stressed.

According to Tan, this law “does not only intend to answer the dearth of doctors in the country but more importantly to address the need of the poor individuals and communities for urgent medical attention.”

Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go, chairperson of the Senate committee on health and a co-author and co-sponsor of the measure, welcomed the President’s signing of the measures, saying it will will further improve the country’s healthcare system.

Go said ensuring adequate supply of medical workers in the country, such as doctors and nurses, is one of the ways to promote a holistic approach to resolve the country’s healthcare woes.

 Alternative learning system

 Duterte has also signed RA 11510 or the Alternative Learning System (ALS) Act, which seeks to provide out-of-school children and adults with opportunities to improve their readiness for higher education, work, or self-employment through a system of non-formal or indigenous education.

 The law creates a Bureau of Alternative Education that will serve as the focal office for the implementation of the learning system. The Department of Education (DepEd) will prescribe the appropriate minimum number of months required for the completion of each of the different alternative learning system programs to ensure that learners are provided with adequate and quality basic education skills.

 Those who pass the elementary level accreditation and equivalency (A&E) are qualified to enroll in junior high school while those who pass the junior high school A&E are qualified for senior high school o may enroll in selected technical vocational education and training programs. Those who pass the senior high school A&E are qualified for college education. The law also requires the DepEd, local governments, and the private sector to conduct an annual review of the ALS program and submit annual reports to Congress to measure its effectiveness and ensure its proper implementation.

 Go  welcomed the enactment of RA 11510, saying it would improve the delivery of basic education to the underserved and disadvantaged amid the pandemic.

 “Education is a constitutionally enshrined right which the state must protect and promote. Thus, ensuring education for all should be a top priority. For this to be achieved, it is vital that opportunities to learn and receive quality education are accessible to all those who so desire,” Go, who is co-author of the law, said.

 Organic Act amendments

 RA 1511, meanwhile, amends the Organic Culture Act of 2010 to make the certification of organic produce by farmers and fishermen more accessible and affordable.

 It establishes a participatory guarantee system (PGS) or a mechanism by which small farmers or fisherfolk and their associations or cooperatives shall be certified as engaged in organic agriculture and as producers of organic products. Certified products will be traded only in the domestic market unless covered by an international certification or a mutual recognition agreement.

 Sen. Cynthia Villar, chair of the Senate agriculture committee and principal sponsor of the measure, previously said PGS certification would only cost farmers P600 to P2000, and is now widely adhered to and accepted by international organic movements.

 The law also creates the National Organic Agriculture Program - National Program Coordinating Office under the agriculture secretary's office to ensure the effective implementation of the national organic agriculture program. The office shall serve as the planning and administrative secretariat of the policy-making body National Organic Agriculture Board (NOAB). It also strengthens the Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards (BAFS), which will provide technical assistance to the NOAB and will craft guidelines for the accreditation of PGS groups.

 The law requires the NOAB to promote, search, and recognize associations or groups that have been practicing organic agriculture through their PGS and to ensure that each province has a PGS group. It also tasks the agribusiness and marketing assistance service of the agriculture department to develop and implement market development and trade promotion programs for organic agriculture.

 Faster document processing

 Duterte also signed RA 11517, which authorizes the President to expedite the processing and issuance of national and local permits, licenses, and certifications in times of national emergency. The law covers all agencies of the executive branch.

 Under the law, the President, in times of national emergency, can accelerate and streamline the regulatory processes and procedures for new and pending applications and renewals of permits, licenses, clearances, certifications, or authorizations; suspend or waive the requirements in securing the documents; prescribe to be permanent the streamlined processes and procedures and the suspension or waiver of requirements.

 Senators welcomed the enactment of the new laws saying that if implemented properly, they would help the country cope and recover from the pandemic.

 Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri pointed out RA 11517 would help government and even businesses move faster despite the pandemic. Sotto was the principal author of the law.

 “We’re in this strange time right now, where things are starting to look up with the vaccine and all, but we’re also still taking caution against this new strain of the virus from abroad. This law should help us efficiently navigate this strange time,” Zubiri said in a statement.

 “We’re still effectively in an emergency, and our government processes should really be streamlined, so our people can receive essential services in a timely manner—everything from medical necessities to telecommunications services, the government should be able to process quickly and efficiently,” he added.

 Zubiri  described the new law as a “partner” to the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act.

 Go, for his part, said the enactment of RA 11517 was “in line with our goal to cut red tape, curb corruption, and streamline government processes, especially in times of national emergencies.” “This will definitely hasten the process and efficiently amplify government services even in times of crisis and national emergencies, such as calamities and unforeseen incidents, including this (COVID-19) disease pandemic.”