By Jhon Aldrin Casinas

The Marikina City government now offers full medical scholarship grants to qualified residents who aspire to become doctors, Mayor Marcelino “Marcy” Teodoro said.

Teodoro signed City Ordinance No. 078 Series 2019 or the “Libreng Pag-aaral sa Pagdodoktor para sa Marikenos” during a ceremony at the Shoe Hall on Monday.

Vice Mayor Marion Andres, M.D. primarily authored the measure and pushed for its passage in the City Council.

According to the ordinance, qualified medical scholars may enroll at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, Far Eastern University, Emilio Aguinaldo College, Manila Central University, University of Sto. Tomas, Fatima University, University of the East, University of Perpetual Help System DALTA, and St. Lukes College of Medicine.

The measure requires applicants to be a bonafide resident of Marikina, they must pass the entrance examination for Medicine in any of the said schools, and must not be over 30 years old when they graduate from their pre-medicine course.

Moreover, applicants must submit a letter of intent availing the scholarship grant, they must also have a pre-medicine bachelor’s degree, and they must be endorsed by the Medical Scholarship Grant Secretariat and the Medical Scholarship Board.

According to Section 4 of the ordinance, the medical scholarship program will only be limited to five slots per school year.

Under the measure’s Section 9, continuing medical students that are on their 2nd to 4th-year status may also avail of the scholarship.

Andres, who is a doctor by profession, said that he authored the ordinance so that Marikina residents who aspire to become doctors will have a chance to achieve their dream.

“I am also a beneficiary of a college scholarship that’s why I was able to study medicine despite I came from a poor family. My father was a war veteran that’s why I was able to avail of a medical scholarship,” he said in a statement.

“Because of this reason, I authored this ordinance to help aspiring doctors. I promised this to our fellow Marikenos during the campaign period that is why I fulfilled it,” he added.

For his part, Teodoro said the city’s medical scholars who passed the board exam must render two years of professional service to the city government as local doctors.

The city government targets to begin implementing the program next academic year, the statement read.

The Medical Scholarship Board is composed of the mayor as chairman, the vice mayor as the vice-chairman, and the chairman of the Committee on Education of Sangguniang Panglungsod.

The amount of the scholarship grant per semester will be determined by the chairman of the Medical Scholarship Board.

Funding for the scholarship program will be sourced out from the Local School Board or from the general funds of the local government.