LAGAWE, IFUGAO- – After also an ending up into the list of hardly affected individuals by the high cost of living, Ifugao students enrolled in medicine course hopefully brace for financial relief after Board Member Joseph Odan raised the possibility for said folks from the indigent ranks of becoming recipients of the provincial government’s medical scholarship program.
For long-time medical students of the province, if the Odan-sponsored ordinance is passed, life may soon be noticeably easier.
Before Board Member Odan pushed for this bold action, after four grueling years of medicine proper education with limited resources, many of them still remember days of struggling to pay for sky-high tuition fees. Medicine is one of the most expensive courses in the Philippines. Ifugao is one of the poorest provinces in the country.
The aim is to provide Php 177,000 a year initially to a scholar and Php 148,000 during the internship program. There is an allocation of four scholars in the program. Two are from the first geographical district, with seven towns, and another two from the second district, encompassing four towns.
“Yes, even in a nation burdened by spiraling costs of goods and services, a poor but intelligent Ifugao medicine student can benefit from this scholarship program,” Odan told the ZigZag Weekly in an exclusive interview.
“Further, this much-needed assistance will work towards optimal access to vital resources as student, thus giving the scholar a sure hope for the future,” he added.
Utilization of aforementioned funds will be implemented to facilitate allowances accrued for books, uniforms, lodging, transportation, board examination as well as review and application fees.
There is a directive prescribing return service obligations to the scholar.
Reasonable assurance is only a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that such direction will always work when an opportunity to earn more elsewhere exists.
A medical student has to shell out about Php 1 million a year at school. Most schools of medicine are privately operated. So it doesn’t stop there. Brain drain is really a major problem.
Through this initiative and in his frame of mind, Board Member Odan became a leader guided by wisdom and always with a heart for the least of his countrymen. Odan has a distinction for pursuing good governance and service excellence. His efforts in health promotion have earned him numerous commendations.
The move to assign more doctors in remote Ifugao villages shall hopefully, curb the poor people’s suffering and anxiety. The prayer now is to have more pro-people doctors in these underserved barangays. But if this plea is ignored, then all is lost. **By Anthony A. Araos
