Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 8) – Senate has approved on second reading a measure which seeks to grant scholarship for aspiring doctors.
Senate Bill No. 1520 or “Doktor Para Sa Bayan Act” aims to have one doctor per town in the country by providing scholarship to deserving students, from state universities and partner private schools, who cannot afford to pursue medical education.
Under the measure, the scholarship grant covers tuition and other school fees, uniform, allowance for dormitory or transportation, internship fees, medical board review fees and licensure fees, medical insurance, and living allowance.
The student must pass first the National Medical Admission Test and the entrance examinations required for Doctor of Medicine degree.
After they passed the licensure exam for physicians, scholars should work in a government health office or government hospital in their respective hometowns “for one year for every year that the scholarship has been availed of.”
The proposed measure also provides that if a scholar refuses to render the mandatory return service, he/she shall be required to pay the full cost of the scholarship.
Its counterpart measure at the House of Representatives was already approved on third and final reading last August.
