SENATOR Pia Cayetano personally checked the ongoing construction of two buildings for the College of Medicine of West Visayas State University.

This is a project she supported through her initiatives as Senior Vice Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance.

One of the buildings will house the state-of-the-art skills and simulation laboratory, while the other building will provide additional learning spaces as more students are encouraged to take up a medical degree, following the passage of the Doktor Para Sa Bayan Act.

University President Dr. Joselito F. Villaruz and Dr. Victor A. Amantillo Jr., Dean of the College of Medicine, toured the senator around the said facilities.

Throughout the senator’s tenure overseeing both health and education budgets in the Senate, Cayetano has championed several initiatives to expand WVSU’s capacity to admit more students into their medical degree program, including constructing additional buildings, improving facilities, modernizing laboratories, and enhancing student programs.

These efforts align with the senator’s broader advocacy of strengthening medical education across the Philippines.

“We’ve spent over a billion pesos supporting medical education projects through the Seed Fund in just a few years,” Cayetano shared, reflecting on the progress since she first handled the budget for State Universities and Colleges.

Since 2021, this initiative has prioritized funding for both new and existing medical SUCs to increase their carrying capacity and enhance their facilities.

The program ensures medical students have access to quality infrastructure and resources necessary for their professional development in healthcare.

“This represents our commitment to building a stronger healthcare system by investing in both facilities and future medical professionals” Cayetano explained, adding that similar support is also being provided to students of allied health courses.

In addition to the Seed Fund and support for increasing the carrying capacity of existing medical SUCs, Cayetano’s initiatives also include budgetary support for operations of newly approved medical SUCs.

WVSU, established in 1902 as the Iloilo Normal School, has evolved into one of the region’s premier educational institutions. It is the only other State University with its own Teaching Hospital aside from the University of the Philippines.

Its College of Medicine, recognized by CHED as a Center of Development, continues to produce top-performing medical professionals for Western Visayas and the rest of the country.

“I’m really proud of being able to find the funding for these kinds of worthwhile projects. It is a personal victory for the medical students and faculty here, but it is a collective victory for the people of the province, of the region,” the senator added.

The senator’s support for WVSU is part of her comprehensive approach to improving the quality and access to medical education nationwide.

During recent budget deliberations in the Senate, she emphasized the need for sustainable and long-term investment in SUCs, particularly in their medical and allied health programs, to address the country’s healthcare workforce needs.