5 BILLS ESTABLISHING NEW MEDICAL COLLEGES SPONSORED BY CONG. MARK GO, NOW SIGNED INTO LAW

January 6, 2024 Metro BLISTT

BAGUIO CITY

Bills establishing five new medical colleges in various state universities across the country, including Benguet, were recently signed into law by President Bongbong Marcos. Cong. Mark Go, who sits as chairman of the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education, sponsored these measures. Republic Act (RA) 11970 establishes the College of Medicine at Benguet State University in La Trinidad, which will offer a Doctor of Medicine Program and an Integrated Liberal Arts and Medicine Program consisting of basic clinical and science courses.

The college is set to be the first state-run college of medicine program in the Cordillera Administrative Region, and the second Doctor of Medicine program in the region after St. Louis
University. Other new measures include RA 11971, RA 11972, and RA 11974, establishing colleges of medicine in the state universities of Southern Luzon State University in Quezon; University of Eastern Philippines-College of Medicine in Catarman, Northern Samar; and the Visayas State
University-College of Medicine in Baybay, Leyte.

All three programs are set to offer the first Doctor of Medicine programs in their respective provinces. Meanwhile, RA 11973 is set to create a College of Veterinary Medicine at Bicol University in Ligao City, Albay. It will be the second state university to offer a veterinary medicine program in the Bicol region. According to Cong. Mark Go, these laws will strengthen the country’s public healthcare system by producing more doctors from the provinces. This is our effort to make the
pursuit of medicine accessible to all.