ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Eric Go Yap has filed a measure that seeks to establish a College of Medicine in Benguet State University in La Trinidad, Benguet.

House Bill 10559 aims to create the Benguet State University College of Medicine.

Yap said that the measure shall also address the shortage of doctors in the country.

“This shall provide an opportunity for the people of Benguet to acquire quality medical education and training with the proximity of this learning institution to their residence which shall reduce the costs for transportation and accommodation,” he said in his explanatory note.

Yap cited the report of the Association of Philippine Medical Colleges that only two out of 58 medical colleges are located in the Cordillera Administrastive Region.

He said that the high cost of medical education is partly due to the lack of medical schools in certain regions, forcing students to study in other areas where they have to rent a place to stay, driving up their expenses.