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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Teaching hospital': Libanan explains why House-passed bill creating Samar college of medicine is a big deal

'Teaching hospital': Libanan explains why House-passed bill creating Samar college of medicine is a big deal

Published May 11, 2026 10:37 am

At A Glance

  • House Minority Leader Marcelino "Nonoy" Libanan welcomes the passage of HB No. 8626, which establishes a state-run College of Medicine at Eastern Samar State University (ESSU). He highlights that the new college will eventually lead to the creation of Eastern Samar's first teaching hospital, designed to provide patient care, education, and research.
  • Libanan emphasizes that the teaching hospital will serve as a practical training ground for medical students and healthcare trainees, strengthening medical education and healthcare services in Eastern Visayas.
4Ps Party-list Rep. Marcelino “Nonoy” Libanan (PPAB)
4Ps Party-list Rep. Marcelino “Nonoy” Libanan (PPAB)


House Minority Leader and 4Ps Party-list Rep. Marcelino “Nonoy” Libanan has welcomed the recent passage of a bill establishing a new state-run college of medicine at Eastern Samar State University (ESSU) in Borongan City.
Libanan says the move is expected to strengthen medical education and healthcare services in Eastern Visayas.
This, as the planned ESSU College of Medicine under House Bill (HB) No. 8626--approved on third and final reading by the legislative chamber--would in due course pave the way for the creation of Eastern Samar’s first teaching hospital, said the Visayan.
“Our vision is to eventually establish a teaching hospital alongside the new ESSU College of Medicine,” Libanan said over the weekend.
“In addition to treating patients, the teaching hospital will serve as a practical learning environment for medical students, resident doctors, nursing and midwifery students, and other healthcare trainees,” he added.
A teaching hospital is a hospital affiliated with a medical school that helps train future healthcare professionals while also providing patient care and conducting research.
“Teaching hospitals are different from community hospitals, which mainly focus on patient care and usually do less formal medical training and research,” the House minority leader pointed out.
“The teaching hospital under ESSU will be involved in three main areas — patient care, education, and research,” he said.
An example of a teaching hospital is the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in Manila. It is the primary teaching and training hospital of the University of the Philippines (UP)-Manila and is officially designated as the country’s “National University Hospital".
The proposed ESSU College of Medicine would primarily offer a Doctor of Medicine program featuring an integrated liberal arts and medicine curriculum composed of basic science and clinical courses. The program would adopt a learner-centered, competency-based, and community-oriented approach.
HB No. 8626, which seeks to establish the ESSU College of Medicine, is authored by Libanan and Eastern Samar lone district Rep. Christopher Sheen Gonzales.
Libanan, a lawyer by profession, also holds a degree in medical technology. He previously represented Eastern Samar’s lone district in Congress for nine years.
The lone state university in Eastern Samar, ESSU currently serves nearly 25,000 students with 721 faculty members.
ESSU already operates a College of Nursing and Allied Sciences, which has earned recognition for the strong performance of its nursing and midwifery graduates in licensure examinations.
Aside from its main campus in the provincial capital of Borongan, ESSU also has campuses in the municipalities of Can-avid, Guiuan, Maydolong, and Salcedo, as well as extension units in Balangiga and Arteche.

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Marcelino Libanan Hospital Eastern Samar ESSU College of Medicine
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