The filing of House Bill No. 7071, which proposes the establishment of a Zamboanga Sibugay College of Medicine, has renewed public discussion on healthcare access, and medical education.
Authored by Congresswoman Dr. Marly Hofer-Hasim, a physician-legislator, the bill seeks to open medical education opportunities for local students and, in the long run, strengthen healthcare delivery in the province.
But unlike other provinces with existing state universities, Zamboanga Sibugay faces a unique structural challenge. It currently has no state-run university or college where a government medical school can naturally be attached.
Why a College of Medicine matters
Zamboanga Sibugay continues to struggle with a lack of doctors, especially in rural and geographically isolated communities. Many aspiring doctors from the province are forced to study in major cities, where high tuition, living costs, and distance often make medical education unattainable โ or push graduates to practice elsewhere.
A local College of Medicine could:
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Train homegrown doctors who are more likely to serve in their own communities
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Lower financial and logistical barriers to medical education
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Strengthen provincial hospitals and rural health units over time
โThis is about investing in our people and our future,โ Hofer-Hasim said in her Facebook post, underscoring the link between local training and long-term healthcare access.
The key issue: no state university to anchor the college
In most provinces, government-run Colleges of Medicine are established under state universities or colleges (SUCs). These institutions provide the legal, academic, and administrative backbone needed to meet national standards.
Zamboanga Sibugay, however, does not currently have an SUC. This raises critical questions about how the proposed College of Medicine will be structured, including:
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Will a new state university be created?
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Will the college be attached to an existing public hospital or a regional SUC?
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Will the institution operate as a stand-alone medical school under a special charter?
Each option carries legal, financial, and administrative implications that lawmakers must resolve.
What a government-run College of Medicine requires
Whether stand-alone or attached to another institution, a government medical school must still comply with strict requirements set by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).
These include:
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Qualified faculty, including licensed physicians and specialists
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A teaching hospital, accredited for clinical training
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Laboratories, libraries, and simulation facilities
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Stable public funding for operations, equipment, and salaries
Without these, a medical school risks falling short of national standards โ a concern often raised by education and health experts.
Teaching hospitals: a critical component
Medical education cannot function without a teaching hospital. This means the province must either:
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Upgrade an existing provincial or district hospital to teaching-hospital status, or
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Form formal partnerships with accredited hospitals in nearby provinces
This requirement is both costly and time-consuming, but essential to producing competent, licensed doctors.
Return-service: making public investment count
Government-funded medical schools often implement return-service agreements, requiring graduates to serve in public hospitals or rural health units for a fixed period.
If applied in Zamboanga Sibugay, such a program could:
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Directly address doctor shortages in far-flung barangays
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Strengthen local hospitals and primary healthcare facilities
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Ensure that public funds translate into public benefit
The challenges ahead
While the proposal has generated optimism, it also invites scrutiny:
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How will the college be governed without an existing SUC?
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Where will long-term funding come from?
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Can the province attract and retain qualified medical faculty?
These questions will shape congressional deliberations and determine whether the proposal becomes a sustainable institution or merely a symbolic one.
Why this matters to the public
For residents of Zamboanga Sibugay, this proposal goes beyond education. It touches on healthcare equity, local development, and the provinceโs capacity to stand on its own.
If carefully planned and properly funded, a Zamboanga Sibugay College of Medicine could be a transformative investment. But without clear answers on structure, governance, and sustainability, the proposal also highlights the broader gap: the absence of a state-run higher education institution in the province.
As House Bill No. 7071 moves forward, public scrutiny will be crucial to ensure that the promise of better healthcare does not outpace the groundwork needed to make it real.
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