MANILA, Philippines — The national government has allotted P9 billion of its budget next year for the deployment of doctors, nurses, midwives and dentists to rural areas that are most in need of medical attention. Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel said the Department of Health (DOH) is now enlisting 9,138 nurses, 3,650 midwives, 243 physicians and 241 dentists – or a total of 13,272 medical personnel – to provide additional medical services in the rural areas. Of the P9 billion for the Human Resources for Health Deployment Program, Pimentel said P7.8 billion is lodged in the miscellaneous personnel benefits fund, while the balance of P1.2 billion is with the DOH. “We would urge qualified health professionals looking for gainful employment to sign up, so they can help underserved communities while getting paid well,” Pimentel said. The acquired training from the service would also help qualified professionals land even better jobs elsewhere later on, according to the lawmaker from Mindanao.

Source: Philippine Star December 09, 2018 15:56 UTC