CEBU City—Cebu Gov. Pamela Baricuatro has signed two “landmark” agreements with the Cebu Normal University (CNU) in collaboration with the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) creating a medical scholarship program and a “practice-based family medicine residency training course” aiming to build a sustainable medical services across the province
“The agreements establish a two-pronged strategy to produce new doctors while upgrading the competencies of those already serving in government hospitals,” provincial health consultant Dr. Elisse Nicole Catalan said.
She cited as example a medical student supported for four years will serve eight years in provincial public health offices or state-run hospitals in Cebu after passing the physician licensure examinations.
In a talk with reporters during the Ato Ang Sugbo, Healthcare Heroes Appreciation Night. Catalan said starting academic year 2026–2027, the provincial government will fund additional scholarship slots, covering full tuition and other academic fees to expand scholarship opportunities for qualified but financially disadvantaged medical students.
“The scholars will render two years of return service in Cebu province for every year of scholarship received,” Catalan said, adding that this is a “strategic move to address physician shortages and reinforce hospital-based healthcare services” in the province.
The provincial government will provide funding, assist in screening applicants, and coordinate return-service deployment. The academic merger will select scholars and monitor their academic performance.
The program directly addresses the long-standing challenge of physician distribution, particularly in geographically in remote and underserved areas, while creating a structure of doctors committed to serving Cebu, Catalan added.
Meanwhile, the accord on residency training establishes a “Practice-Based Family Medicine Residency Training Program” for doctors assigned to provincial and district hospitals. Accredited by the Philippine Academy of Family Physicians and implemented by Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center with oversight from the Department of Health Region VII, the program allows provincial doctors to undergo structured residency training while continuing hospital service, Dr. Catalan explained.
The training includes lectures, supervised clinical work, case discussions, and regular evaluations. Governor Baricuatro said the Province will maintain salaries and benefits for participating physicians while ensuring compliance with training standards. VSMMC will design and oversee the curriculum.
Catalan noted that the program was designed to strengthen primary care capacity, improve chronic disease management, and bring specialist-level primary care expertise closer to communities, particularly in rural and island municipalities.
“This is a long-term investment in health system sustainability. We are strengthening our pipeline of future physicians while upgrading the competencies of doctors already on the ground, ensuring that quality care is available across all levels of our provincial hospital network,” Catalan emphasized.
According to her, the twin initiatives signaled the provincial government’s commitment to institutionalizing durable solutions to physician shortages and improving service delivery across Cebu’s healthcare system.
With these agreements, Catalan said that Cebu adopts a comprehensive human resource development strategy, producing future doctors through scholarship support while simultaneously elevating the expertise of those already serving in government hospitals.
