Bringing healing closer to far-flung communities: DOH sends new wave of medical specialists to Cordillera hospitals

FEATURE

A cough ignored in a distant barangay can worsen into pneumonia before a patient even reaches a hospital. A mother from a remote sitio may spend hours traveling along rough mountain roads just to consult a doctor. During heavy rains, seeking medical care becomes even more dangerous, forcing families to wait until the weather improves.

These realities continue to affect many upland communities in the Cordillera Administrative Region, where access to healthcare is often limited by distance, difficult terrain, and financial constraints.

To help address these challenges, the Department of Health-Cordillera (DOH-CAR) has deployed a new batch of medical specialists to provinces across the region to deliver healthcare services in isolated and hard-to-reach communities.

According to the agency, a total of 19 medical specialists and health professionals have been assigned to different government hospitals across the Cordillera.

The batch includes physicians under the Post-Residency Placement Program (PRPP), who are set to deploy on June 1, 2026, and one specialist under the Espesyalista Para sa Bayan (EPSB) program, who was deployed earlier this month.

As cited on the DOH website, the PRPP and EPSB are key components of the agency’s National Health Workforce Support System, which aims to augment the health workforce in areas where local government units are unable to fill positions on their own, helping bridge gaps in medical services.

Among the hospitals receiving specialists are the Abra Provincial Hospital, Atok District Hospital in Benguet, Besao District Hospital and Bontoc General Hospital in Mountain Province, Dennis Molintas District Hospital in Bokod, Benguet, Far North General Hospital and Training Center in Luna, Apayao, Ifugao General Hospital, Kalinga Provincial Hospital, and Luis Hora Memorial Regional Hospital in Bauko, Mountain Province.

The assigned doctors specialize in pediatrics, internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, anesthesiology, and family medicine.

With the new deployment, residents are expected to benefit from improved medical attention and more consistent access to specialized healthcare services within their own provinces, reducing the need to travel far for specialist care.

It can be recalled that in February, the regional DOH also deployed more than 40 doctors to different municipalities in the region through its Doctors to the Barrios Program.

The program has long been sending doctors to isolated communities across the country to provide much-needed healthcare services to underserved populations.