POSITIONS AND the corresponding funds for doctors and medical specialists are available in Iloilo’s public hospitals, but there are no takers. Dr. Raul N. Banias, the provincial administrator and head of the Hospital Management Office, lamented that they have come up with an attractive compensation package, but there has been no interest among medical professionals to work in a public hospital. “We spent tens of millions to address the manpower gap but the problem is no one has applied,” he said. The Iloilo provincial government hired 596 additional hospital personnel in 2015, but there has hardly been any applicants since for positions that remain vacant. He cited the case of Dr. Ricardo S. Provido Sr. Memorial Hospital in Calinog and Jesus M. Colmenares District Hospital in Balasan, which require two doctors each. Iloilo province manages 11 district hospitals and one provincial hospital. These 12 public hospitals, which were converted into local economic enterprises in 2010, have become self-sufficient and surplus-generating as of end-2014, with an excess income of P115.6 million. Mr. Banias said they have already reached out to the chiefs of hospitals, medical societies, and medical schools to convince the doctors to take up the work opportunities in government. — Louine Hope U. Conserva

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