To strengthen Cebu’s public health workforce, the Cebu Provincial Government will now finance the medical education of at least 40 aspiring doctors each year under its expanded “Study Now, Serve Later” program.
The scholarship will support qualified students enrolled at the Cebu Normal University – Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center College of Medicine starting this academic year.
Governor Pamela Baricuatro said funding will come from the province’s education allocation and the Office of the Governor, with plans to gradually increase support in the coming years.
The provincial initiative comes after the national Medical Scholarship and Return Service (MSRS), also known as the Doktor Para sa Bayan program, significantly reduced available slots.
VSMMC Chief of Hospital Dr. Gerardo Aquino said the medical school initially offered more than 50 national scholarship slots when it opened in 2021.
This was reduced to 24 slots and has now dropped to just nine for the current academic year.
“To maintain our target of 50 students annually, the province will now finance scholars not covered by the national program,” Aquino said.
He added that the partnership is expected to produce more physicians who will serve in public hospitals across Cebu.
“If you could just imagine, in the next few years, we will have many doctors available sa atong district and provincial hospitals,” he said.
Under the program, scholars must render government service after passing the physician licensure examination.
The required service period will be twice the length of the scholarship received, meaning a four-year scholarship requires eight years of service.
Baricuatro said this ensures the province addresses the long-standing shortage of doctors while maintaining continuity of medical care across Cebu’s 16 provincial and district hospitals.
Priority will be given to applicants from municipalities with the greatest need for medical professionals.
To maintain the integrity of the selection process, the governor emphasized that the provincial government will not be involved in screening applicants.
“I have no intention of getting myself involved in choosing the candidates, and I hope other public servants will not intervene either. This is strictly an academic process, and our role is to provide the scholarship for future doctors,” she said.
Officials of Cebu Normal University said the province will cover full tuition costs, estimated at P74,000 for first-year students, P76,530 for second-year, and at least P78,000 annually for third and fourth-year students.
Priority will be given to Cebuano residents.
Applications for the incoming first-year class are open from February to June, with classes scheduled to begin in July.
Eligible applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree with a science background and meet admission requirements, including academic performance, NMAT scores, entrance examination, interview, and financial and residency assessment.
The CNU-VSMMC College of Medicine currently has over 200 students and remains the only government-run medical school in Cebu, offering a more affordable alternative to private institutions where annual tuition can reach up to P330,000. (SBA)
