In the continuation of the budget deliberations for the 2026 General Appropriations Bill, Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III raised questions to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) regarding the scholarships that should have been awarded to medical students, especially those in the countryside.
Sotto noted that, based on the latest data, only 12 students received CHED scholarships in two colleges in Cebu instead of the allotted 24, while the envisioned intake should have been almost double. ‘We were envisioning more or less an average of 40 students per SUC [State Universities and Colleges] with College of Medicine every year,’ he emphasized.
Citing his authored landmark measure, the Doktor Para sa Bayan Act, which mandates the provision of scholarships to medical students, the Senate President also emphasized the financial burden faced by aspiring doctors.
‘The reason we offer scholarships is because there is a shortage of doctors, nurses, and medical practitioners,’ Sotto said, describing the long and expensive journey medical students go through just to graduate.
CHED Sponsor Sen. Win Gatchalian assured the Senate leadership that they will endeavor to increase the number of scholars next year and beyond, noting, ‘para po marami tayong ma-produce na doctors and medical practitioners.’
‘We would need 185M in additional funds, which will generate 648 new scholars nationwide.’ Gatchalian agreed that additional funding may be required to meet the target, and that any excess budget from other provinces may be redirected to areas with insufficient funding to balance allocations and reach the target.