Filipino healthcare students are set for a major financial reprieve as the 2026 national budget formally integrates a P500-million allocationdedicated to covering Related Learning Experience (RLE) fees.
Championed by Senator Bam Aquino, this strategic addition to the P1.38-trillion education budget aims to curb “brain drain” and stop the financial exhaustion of nursing and allied health students.
For years, these students have faced staggering out-of-pocket costs—ranging from P100,000 to P200,000 over four years—to complete mandatory hospital duties and laboratory requirements. These “hidden” costs have frequently led to heavy debt or forced dropouts.
Aquino, the author of the landmark Free College Law, emphasized that this P500-million boost is about giving future healthcare heroes a genuine choice to practice in the Philippines.
“The current setup forces our nursing students to go abroad, so the reform is pwede nang isama [should be included] the RLE expenses in free college. Kahit libre pa yung kolehiyo o kahit may scholarship pa sila, they still have to pay for the RLE. Ito yung binabayad nila sa mga ospital to be able to get their degree to graduate,” he said.
The Senator highlighted the irony of a system where families must borrow heavily to support studies, only to find that local salaries cannot cover the debt.
“Many of them, syempre, either maghahanap ng pera or uutangin mo yan. Di ba, paano mo yan babayaran on a local nurse’s salary? That system is practically pushing our students to go abroad. This is one step to get some more nurses the support, and to give them the option to actually be here,” Aquino explained.
Lodged under the Higher Education Development Program (HEDP), the P500-million fund cover a broad spectrum of allied health programs including Nursing & Midwifery, Medical Technology / Medical Lab Science, Pharmacy & Physical Therapy, Occupational & Respiratory Therapy, Radiologic Technology, Nutrition, Dietetics, & Psychology, Dentistry, Biochemistry & Speech-Language Pathology.
This year around 20,000 nursing and allied health students will receive P10,000 to P20,000 in State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) and Local Universities and Colleges (LUCs). These institutions will submit projected costs directly to CHED for funding via UniFAST, ensuring students no longer see these charges on their enrollment bills.
Students in accredited private schools can apply for the Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES) specifically to cover RLE expenses. The 2026 budget mandates CHED to update TES guidelines to include RLE fees as “allowable costs.”
While the 2026 RLE budget provides immediate relief, Senator Aquino is also pushing for Senate Bill No. 123 or the Libreng RLE Act to institutionalize the program, eventually making these clinical hours entirely free for disadvantaged and “poor but deserving” students.
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