Senators were shocked to learn that foreign medical students are studying in taxpayer-funded state universities and colleges (SUCs) taking up the limited slots that are intended for Filipino medical students.
During the Senate deliberations on the proposed budget of the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) on Monday, senators wanted SUCs to stop or limit the admission of foreign students to medical degree programs.
Senator Imee Marcos questioned CHEd chair Prospero De Vera III why foreign students have been allowed admission to the medical program of SUCs based on reports of student groups who have reached out to her.
De Vera III reasoned that the respective Board of Regents of each SUCs determines who can be admitted.
“There are accusations that the foreign students are crowding out the local students in these medical programs,” De Vera added.
“Kung ako lang po ang masusunod, ang posisyon ko diyan, kapag state University ka sa medical program, dapat ang estudyante mo Pilipino lang,” he said.
“That is my personal position but those decisions are made by the Board of Regents of individual state universities, they are not made by the commission,” he added.
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said it is “repulsive” that foreign medical students are allowed to study in publicly-funded SUCs.
“I find this a bit repulsive that we spend taxpayers’ money to educate foreign medical students,” Drilon said.
“We are not saying that foreign medical students should not come to our shores, but let them enroll in private schools and pay the appropriation fees; but to be in public SUCs cannot be justified for whatever reason,” Drilon said.
The minority leader suggested a special provision under the SUCs budget that would prohibit them from allowing the admission of foreign medical students.
Other senators supported Drilon’s proposal.
For Senator Cynthia Villar, the country’s resources should be dedicated to educating Filipino medical students.
“I don’t really agree that we should educate foreign students in our SUCs. I mean we have limited capacity and we should give it to the Filipinos, not to foreigners,” she said.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian agreed that medical education programs should be exclusively or “at least prioritize our fellow Filipinos.”
Marcos agreed with Drilon’s proposal to reform the policy of allowing foreign medical students in SUCs since this would ensure the effective implementation of a proposal to grant full medical scholarships to eligible Filipino students.
“We are aggressively increasing the number of medical scholarships e baka bumagsak pa sa mga dayuhan. Naku palpak naman, sayang naman ang effort natin,” she said.
While Senator Pia Cayetano, who was presiding over the budget hearing, shared her colleagues’ concern, she noted that foreign students may be in SUCs due to the SUCs international exchange program.
“I know international linkages are part of your ranking and that includes exchanges of professors and exchanges of students. Would this be covered? Because if this is part of your global mandate then I want to know before we accept such a proposal,” Cayetano asked De Vera which the latter answered in the affirmative.
“That’s why we have to balance these issues, the intent to internationalize our education at the same time, the fact that these education is publicly subsidized,” De Vera said.
Drilon noted that the Philippines “does not take advantage of this.”
“I am not aware of the extent of our Filipino medical students taking medical students in other countries and you know, for all we know there are also restrictions in the admission of foreigners in these foreign universities in their own land,” Drilon said.
The minority leader urged De Vera to submit a proposed provision that would regulate this kind of practice “having in mind international linkages as a necessary policy that our SUCs have to follow.”
“We can limit it to certain fields of endeavor, medicine should not be one of them,” he said.
“There must be limitations to this. I just cannot accept that foreign students will go into SUCs without any restriction, particularly in the areas where our own Filipino students are struggling to get into,” Drilon added. Rommel F. Lopez