CATBALOGAN CITY — A new partnership between lawmakers and the University of the Philippines (UP) Manila aims to address the chronic lack of healthcare in Homonhon Island, Eastern Samar by training local residents to become health professionals.
House Minority Leader Marcelino “Nonoy” Libanan and Eastern Samar Rep. Christopher Sheen Gonzales have teamed up with UP Manila’s School of Health Sciences to launch a special class exclusively for 25 scholars from the island’s eight barangays.
Selected scholars will be enrolled in UP’s stepladder curriculum, a progressive program where students first qualify as midwives, then as nurses, and eventually as doctors. The initiative is intended to create a locally rooted health workforce for the island’s roughly 15,000 residents.
The congressional offices of Libanan and Gonzales will provide allowances for the students during their training. Graduates are expected to return to Homonhon to serve in its local hospital and eventually help train future health workers.
“This is how we secure lasting, community-based healthcare,” Libanan said. “We’re not just sending doctors—we’re building them from within the community.”
Gonzales said the island’s isolation has made access to health care extremely difficult, especially in emergencies. Patients currently face a two-and-a-half-hour boat ride to the mainland town of Guiuan, which becomes impossible during rough seas.
“Imagine needing urgent care and waiting for the waves to calm down,” Gonzales said. “That’s the reality for many families here.”
The project is being launched in partnership with UP Manila Chancellor Dr. Michael Tee, who said the program aligns with the university’s mission of training health professionals to serve underserved communities.
“This isn’t just about education,” Tee said. “It’s about meeting the healthcare needs of remote areas through long-term community engagement.”
Homonhon, part of Guiuan municipality, is historically significant as the first landing site of Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. But despite its heritage, the island has struggled with healthcare access due to its geographic isolation and the deterioration of its Department of Health-managed hospital, which was damaged by typhoons and has since been largely non-operational.
Eastern Samar Governor Ben Evardone has pledged provincial support for the hospital’s rehabilitation, Gonzales said.
The UP Manila School of Health Sciences, based in Palo, Leyte, has a track record of producing graduates who return to work in underserved areas. Its community-based curriculum has been recognized for helping fill health service gaps in remote provinces.
Libanan and Gonzales, both native to Eastern Samar, said the program is more than a scholarship. “This is about ensuring that future generations of Homonhon residents have access to health care—and to hope,” they said.
—Reporting by Ricky Bautista
