As Filipino nurses continue to explore better-paying opportunities abroad, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said the government might resort to providing scholarships for them and other medical workers to keep them in the Philippines for at least a few years.
Marcos said this as many countries scramble to find healthcare professionals to man their hospitals and medical facilities.
In a meeting with the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) in Malacañang, the President said that while the government cannot prevent nurses from leaving for high-paying jobs abroad, they must at least serve their country if they avail of the government scholarship program.
"Lahat, nurses. Naghahanap... Everybody that I talk to, especially from the States and from Europe (Everyone, nurses. Everybody that I talk to, they're looking for nurses, especially from the US and from Europe)," he said on Thursday, November 24.
"So the only thing is that the scholarship program, that you know, you can't hold people back from a better life, from a better living..." he added.
Marcos thinks that beneficiaries of the scholarship would choose to serve the country for a few years before exploring job opportunities overseas.
"I think it's fair that if you provide scholarship, that you expect that there are... mag-serbisyo muna sila ng ilang taon (they serve the country for a few years first)," he said.
"Hindi babayaran yung scholarship, eh (They don't need to pay for the scholarship). They don't need to pay that," he pointed out.
Department of Health (DOH) Officer-in-Charge Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the DOH had started discussions with the deans of the University of the Philippines (UP) and other allied healthcare services for the government's "ladderized" scholarship program.
The DOH official expressed hope to produce more nurses as the government implements the program, although it will take two to three years to bear fruit.
Vergeire also told the President that the DOH had initial talks with the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) for exchange programs with other countries needing healthcare workers.
"So in turn, we are going to propose that if we can provide them with these numbers that they need, they provide us also, for example, scholarships for a number of our healthcare workers here," Vergeire said.
She added that part of DMW's plans is to secure deals with the country's bilateral partners or countries to provide funds for scholarships in the Philippines, noting after graduation, the scholars will be required to serve their communities for a certain period before they can seek overseas employment.