THE PHILIPPINES has 1,209 new doctors, according to the Professional Regulation Commission. They passed the recent Physician Licensure Examination.
We have to ask the question: Will they stay in the country and serve their fellowmen or will they leave for high-paying jobs abroad?
There is this prevailing perception that Filipinos – regardless of profession – if given the chance, would leaving the country as soon as they can for greener pastures abroad.
The over a thousand new physicians are a welcome addition to the country’s healthcare professionals – should they decide to stay. But it is public knowledge that many of our doctors (and nurses) dream of working abroad for better compensation.
The scarcity of health professionals is not new. In fact, the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines as early as a decade ago observed that aside from healthcare, information technology, finance and accounting, engineering and mechanics and other workers with specialized skills were suffering from shortages.
The number one complaint of our local workers is that they are not well-compensated. That is a reality the government cannot deny. However, if the government raises the salary scale for the workers, investors might relocate to neighboring countries with lower labor cost. It would mean lesser job opportunities for Filipinos.
Does the government have any idea where to begin addressing the exodus of workers?
This brain drain problem has been raised as early as 1980s. Back then, the effect of the exodus of highly-skilled workers was not obvious. However, the government reacted too slow. Now, we have a scarcity on highly skilled workers, and we do not know anymore how to control it.
Although overseas Filipino workers’ remittances are a big help to the economy, the country’s social services are being sacrificed, such as medical services. Really, how many government doctors and nurses do we have?
