A measure that seeks to mandate new Filipino doctors and nurses to work in the country for a year first before they seek jobs abroad is currently being pushed by a lawmaker in Congress.
House Bill No. 6232 also known as the Mandatory Medical Service Bill, has been filed by Malasakit and Bayahanihan party-list Rep. Anthony Rolando Golez Jr. in a bid to address the shortage of healthcare workers in the country.
In its explanatory note, the bill seeks to require examinees who passed the medical board examinations to render a one-year medical service in government hospitals or health facilities before the issuance of their certificate of registration, by amending Republic Act (RA) No. 2382 or "The Medical Acts of 1959."
"Filipinos are very good doctors and nurses... What will happen if everybody is out? At least, we know that we have a regular supply of nurses and doctors for a year [with this bill]," Golez said in an interview with another media outlet.
In March, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to address the shortage of nurses in the country due to migration.
"We have to be clever about the healthcare manpower. Our nurses are the best, buong mundo na ang kalaban natin dito. Lahat ng nakakausap kong President, Prime Minister, ang hinihingi is more nurses from the Philippines," the President said during a meeting with the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) Healthcare Sector group in Malacanang Palace last March 29.
Marcos also pointed out that the shortage has been affecting the healthcare system in the country.
The Department of Health (DOH) said it is studying the standardization of salaries of nurses, doctors and healthcare workers to encourage them to stay in the country.
Based on their data, 316,405 licensed Filipino nurses, or 51%, had migrated to other countries.
