“Medical Scholarship and Return Service (MSRS) Program Act,”

August 12, 2020 JUST IN

PRESS RELEASE
REP. ERIC YAP
ACT-CIS PARTYLIST
LONE DISTRICT OF BENGUET
AUGUST 11, 2020
On Monday, the House of Representatives approved House Bill No. 6756, to be known as “Medical Scholarship and Return Service (MSRS) Program Act,” on its third and final reading. Benguet legislative caretaker Rep. Eric Yap, principal author of the said measure, noted that this is a tremendous step towards addressing the doctor shortage in the country.
“According to the 2016 data from DOH, the doctor-to-patient stands at 1:33,000, which is far below from the global average of 1:6,600. This may be caused in part by education expenses and overseas migration. The costs of becoming a doctor are already challenging enough, so wanting to earn back what was spent during years of study and training seems logical,” Yap noted.
“Once enacted into law, the scholarship program shall accept at least one (1) scholar from each Municipality in the country. It shall provide opportunities to Filipinos who want to pursue medicine and serve the country. Regardless of their background or their residence, they can apply to this program,” the partylist solon stated.
“In far-flung villages in the country, it is not uncommon that some residents have never seen a doctor from their birth to their death. This is an unfortunate scenario since we want to provide accessible healthcare to our constituents. Especially now that we are in the middle of a pandemic, we have seen the immediate need to have doctors and other healthcare workers within reach,” Yap said.
“From our consultations with our kababayan in Benguet, especially those in remote areas, the available doctor from their community is kilometers away. Having experienced this challenge firsthand, some of them want to be doctors to be able to personally attend to the medical needs of their communities. Through this program, they will be given the opportunity to pursue their dreams and give back through the return service clause of this measure,” the legislative caretaker pronounced.