The House of Representatives has approved on second reading a measure amending a 65-year-old law that currently prevents foreign medical graduates from practicing medicine in their home countries after studying in the Philippines.
House Bill 10145, or the Philippine Medical Act, was approved in plenary last month, aiming to repeal and amend Republic Act 2382, or The Medical Act of 1959, allowing for the registration of foreign medical graduates from Philippine medical schools.
The measure is expected to benefit a significant number of Indian students who choose the Philippines for medical school due to factors like affordability and the use of English as the medium of instruction.
“This is due to the new regulations of the Indian Medical Commission requiring registration of said medical graduates overseas where the MD degree was obtained,” lawyers Julito Vitriolo and Ulpiano Sarmiento III was quoted saying in a Philippine Star report.
The bill, seen as a potential boost to the Philippines’ medical education sector, could also help the country reclaim its position as a leader in medical education within Asia.
“With this enhancement, the Philippines will surely reclaim its status as a center of medical education in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Representative Rufus Rodriguez, a key author of the amendment.
He said the change “will eventually pave the way for these foreign medical students to be allowed registration [here and] can go back to their country of origin to get licensed there as physicians.”
He pointed to the “very good quality of medical education” offered in the Philippines.
The new bill, House Bill 10145 or the Philippine Medical Act, would address this gap and allow foreign graduates who completed their degrees and a year of internship in the Philippines to register for practice in their home countries.
The Commission on Higher Education would be tasked with issuing the necessary certifications for foreign medical graduates with Doctor of Medicine (MD) degrees from Philippine schools.
While the long-term impact remains to be seen, the bill has the potential to significantly boost the number of foreign students seeking medical degrees in the Philippines.
This could not only benefit the country’s education sector but also potentially address healthcare worker shortages in other Asian nations.
