The House Committee on Higher and Technical Education approved a bill seeking to establish a college of medicine at the Visayas State University to be known as Visayas State University-College of Medicine.
Sponsored by Rep. Carl Nicolas Cari of the 5th District of Leyte, House Bill 4553 is in accordance with the objective of the "Doktor Para sa Bayan Act", strengthening the health-related education and workforce in the country with appropriating medical scholarships and return of service.
The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) expressed its support for the proposed bill and noted that there are policies and standards that the institution must comply with prior to the operation of the program.
VSU President Dr. Edgardo E. Tulin said that the university will be in compliance with the requirements and regulations of CHED considering that there is really a need for doctors in our country even before the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I believe that in this part of the Philippines, the offering of VSU College of Medicine will give a privilege to our aspiring students, to those who have the talents to pursue a Doctor of Medicine in the future," Dr. Tulin emphasized.
The University of the Philippines (UP) College of Medicine will help VSU in institutionalizing its college of medicine to ensure the highest quality in medical education. They suggest that aside from being learner-centered and competency-based, the medical college should also be community-oriented to fulfill its mandate.
Through this bill, VSU will be the pioneering university in the region to realize a degree program in Doctor of Medicine along with Samar State University which has a pending application for the said medical program.