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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Villanueva lauds CHED's approval of five additional medical schools in Philippines

Villanueva lauds CHED's approval of five additional medical schools in Philippines

Published Jun 21, 2026 01:08 pm

At A Glance

  • Senator Joel Villanueva has commended the establishment of additional medical schools across the country saying this would help boost Filipinos' access to healthcare and ensure every community will have access to a doctor and quality medical services.

Senator Joel Villanueva has commended the establishment of additional medical schools across the country saying this would help boost Filipinos’ access to healthcare and ensure every community will have access to a doctor and quality medical services. 

Villanueva made the remark following the Commission on Higher Education’s (CHED) recent approval of Doctor of Medicine Programs in five (5) state universities across the country beginning Academic Year 2026-2027.

“This is a win for our youth aspiring to become doctors, for local communities, and for every Filipino who deserves quality healthcare,” Villanueva said.

“With these five new approvals, the number of SUC medical schools has grown from 25 to 30, completing our goal of establishing a medical program in every region of the country,” the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Higher, Technical and Vocational Education further said.

The senator also said CHED’s move strengthens the implementation of Republic Act 11509 or the Doktor Para sa Bayan Act, which he authored in 2020 to help address healthcare inequality.

“This is not merely an investment in education — it is an investment in lives,” Villanueva said.

“Every doctor we train means countless patients who will receive timely and quality medical care,” he stressed.

The five state universities that passed CHED’s evaluation and were given the go-signal to have a medical program are the following:

* Visayas State University (VSU) – Region VIII

* Eastern Samar State University (ESSU) – Region VIII

* University of Eastern Philippines (UEP) – Region VIII

* Benguet State University (BSU) – Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR)

* Cotabato State University - Cotabato Regional Medical Center School of Medicine (CCSU-CRMC) – Region XII

Villanueva said he is hopeful that the new medical programs will boost the Doktor Para sa Bayan (DPSB) law by expanding medical education opportunities in the regions and helping address the longstanding shortage and uneven distribution of physicians nationwide.

Related Tags

Medical school CHED Joel Villanueva Doktor Para sa Bayan law
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