Sen. Joel Villanueva in a huddle with Gov. Albert Garcia, Rep. Jose Enrique Garcia III, Balanga City Mayor Francis Garcia and Tonyboy Roman, legal consultant of Rep. Geraldine Roman. Photo by Ernie Esconde
BALANGA CITY — A school of medicine is eyed to rise in Bataan to produce homegrown doctors as mandated by RA 11509 principally sponsored by Sen. Joel Villanueva who visited this city Thursday.
RA 11509 or the Doktor para sa Bayan Act was signed into law by President Duterte on Dec. 23, 2020.
Gov. Albert Garcia said they have discussed with Villanueva the establishment of the school for doctors at the state-owned Bataan Peninsula State University in Balanga City where there is already a school of nursing.
“Ngayong pandemic ay nakita ang kahalagahan ng mga healthcare, mga doktor, nurses kaya we need to produce more in the medical field na malaki maitutulong ni Senator Villanueva,” the governor said.
Garcia said having more doctors in the province will be in line with their vision of attaining the highest human development index where life expectancy and health are given priorities.
The senator said that establishing the school of medicine in Bataan is a mandate under the Doktor para sa Bayan Law where students will be granted medical scholarship by government with free tuition, uniform, living allowance, boarding, lodging, transportation, other school needs, and even review fees and insurance.
Villanueva saw the urgent need for more doctors in the country, saying “Because right now, there are about 209 municipalities all over the country na wala ni isang doktor, wala ni isa that is why we have to do something about it.”
“We also figured out meron din problema sa school of medicine because there are 10 regions in the country without a single public school offering school of medicine, not one in 10 regions including Region 3 and that’s why we worked hard this year,” he said.
Villanueva said they placed a budget of P1.6 billion and adding P2.6 billion more the coming year for the Doktor para sa Bayan Act to develop more schools of medicines like in Cebu, Zamboanga City, and Davao.
“I am hoping that next year, there will be one in Region 3. In the next two to three years that is our target, every region would have a public-school offering school of medicine,” he said.
The governor and his brother, 2nd District Rep. Jose Enrique Garcia III, said Villanueva has assisted the province in the form of infrastructure projects, release of funds for TUPAD and AICS and needed legislation like the amendment of the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan and the creation of the third district of Bataan.
The senator also helped in the upgrading of hospitals in the province, the governor said.
They said that while Villanueva was then head of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, many were trained and now employed in various factories in the province.
Dinalupihan Mayor Maria Angela Garcia, president of the Bataan League of Municipalities and Balanga City Mayor Francis Garcia also welcomed Villanueva at The Bunker, seat of the provincial government.
