Not everyone can be a doctor for free under ‘Doktor Para sa Bayan’
- FactRakers
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Not all Filipinos are eligible to study medicine for free under the “Doktor Para sa Bayan” Act. The program offers a limited number of government-funded scholarships to qualified applicants who meet strict criteria, including income limits, residency in underserved areas, and a mandatory return service requirement.
Despite these conditions, former Senate president and senatorial candidate Vicente “Tito” Sotto III claimed during an Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas campaign rally in Rizal on April 4 that any Filipino can study medicine for free:
Libre nang maging doctor ang kahit sinong Pilipino. Libre ang tuition fee, libre ang libro, libre ang lodging. May allowance pa. Mag doktor na kayong lahat (Any Filipino can now become a doctor for free. Tuition, books and lodging are all covered — and there’s even an allowance. Go be doctors, all of you). [3:10:27 mark]
Under Republic Act No. 11509 co-authored by Sotto, applicants must come from geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas or belong to the top 20% of provinces or municipalities that are calamity-prone or conflict-affected. They also must be part of a family with a combined annual income below P450,000.
Priority is given to qualified applicants from municipalities without government doctors. If no eligible applicant is found in a town, the scholarship slot may be reassigned within the same province as long as the scholar commits to return and serve in the original town after licensure.
Scholars must sign a return service agreement, requiring them to work in public health facilities in underserved areas for the same number of years they received the scholarship, typically three to five years.
Failure to comply with the return service obligation can result in the termination of the scholarship and repayment of all benefits received.
The Commission on Higher Education implements the program only in select state universities and private higher education institutions they recognize.
Signed into law in December 2020, the Doktor Para sa Bayan Act established the Medical Scholarship and Return Service Program to address the shortage of medical professionals, particularly in underserved areas.