Secretary Dino supports proposed state-funded College of Medicine in Cebu

CEBU CITY—Cebu will have its own state-funded medical college once the proposal gets approval from the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd).

In an emailed press release, Secretary  Michael Dino, Presidential Assistant for the Visayas, expressed support for the proposed establishment of the Cebu Normal University-Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (CNU-VSMMC) College of Medicine.

According to the press release from the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV), the CNU-VSMMC College of Medicine is seen to be one of the solutions for the current shortage of medical doctors in the region. 

“This office acknowledges the lack of health professionals serving the rural areas due to opportunities offered by the urban areas in terms of medical practice and lifestyle preferences,” said Secretary Dino in his letter to Commission on Higher Education Chairperson Dr. Prospero De Vera III.

The letter sent last September 17, 2019 aims to get approval from CHED on the plan of the proposed CNU-VSMMC College of Medicine.

“With the establishment of a medical state college we can steadily close the gap of the doctor patient ratio that is ideal for the primary health care of the country especially for public health in the countryside,” Dino said in his letter to De Vera.

Exemplary or top-performing students who cannot afford to enrol in expensive private medical learning institutions will be prioritized in the proposed state-funded College of Medicine.

VSMMC medical center chief Dr. Gerardo Aquino Jr. wrote to Dino, informing the secretary that they have appeared before the CHED Technical Committee for Medical Education as part of the application process.

“We target to begin classes in August 2020 at the Medical Center’s Cancer Center while we await for the approval of the budget allocation under the General Appropriation Act (GAA) in the coming years,” said Dr. Aquino in the letter.

Dr. Aquino added that they have complied with all the documentary requirements needed for establishing the College of Medicine.

The 5-year straight program of Doctor of Medicine with Masters in Public Health Governance degree is expected to produce doctors who are not only experts in delivering patient care services but also transformative leaders in health governance to help achieve positive outcomes in our public health sector, according to the OPAV.

In Central Visayas alone, the doctor-client ratio is at 1:28,341. The ideal ratio for Primary Health Care service is 1:100, which is the goal of the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act. /bmjo