The hallmark of true leadership is the ability to find opportunities from problems, listening and learning from the experiences of others, and crafting sustainable solutions to address present needs. This is what Vice Governor Rene l Relampagos has once again exemplified as he and the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) started the legislative work needed to create the Bohol Medical Scholarship program.
To recall, Relampagos attended the induction and oath-taking ceremony of the newly elected officers for the Association of Municipal Health Officers of the Philippines (AMHOP) on September 25, 2020, where he represented Gov. Arthur Yap.
In his speech, Relampagos openly expressed his wish that the Province of Bohol will set aside a special scholarship fund solely for Boholanos, wherein, deserving Boholano students who wish to pursue Medicine,will be financed by the provincial government.
In return, these Bolanono medical scholarship recipients will serve the Province of Bohol for a couple of years after graduation.
Today, such a dream is no longer just a wish of the Vice Governor.
During the regular session held on July 6, 2021, Relampagos discussed the merits of the Bohol Medical Scholarship during the Presiding Officer’s Time.
The said scholarship program aims to increase the availability of homegrown physicians in the province, particularly those who will serve in the Rural Healthcare System.
Given the cost of earning a medical degree, the said proposed measure answers the small number of Bol-anon medical doctors by providing opportunities to young students who wish to pursue a career in medicine or public health but do not have the means to do so.
To provide further context to the merits of the said proposed program, Relampagos recounts in both pre-session meeting and the regular session that members of the AMHOP are mostly non-Boholanos.
Furthermore, Relampagos shares the information that some of the medical doctors he had the privilege to converse with, are able to live their dreams because of the help of state-funded or LGU-funded medical scholarships.
Relampagos discussed the matter with Yap and accordingly, the idea was well received.
Yap wishes to expedite reaping the fruits of the program; hence, opening access to the said scholarship program to junior and senior medical students.
The Office of the Governor has drafted the proposed ordinance regarding the medical scholarship to address the small number of Bol-anon medical practitioners.
Yap also announced the creation of the said scholarship program during the groundbreaking of the expansion of Governor Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital (GCGMH) back in January 2021.
At the end of the last regular session, the SP has moved to refer the said proposal to the Committees on Education, Health, and Appropriation.
The Yap-Relampagos administration plans to launch the program in 2022, by earmarking P25 million from the 2022 budget of the provincial government to finance the said scholarship program.
Apart from the Bohol Medical Scholarship program, Relampagos also floated the idea of opening a medical school in Bohol.
However,heads of the various Higher Educational Institutions in the Province, expressed apprehensions given the huge financing needed to open Bohol’s first medical school.
In response, the Provincial Government of Bohol took the cudgels, and given the strong support of First District Representative Edgar Chatto, tapped Bohol Island State University to host a medical school that will be opening soon.