LAOAG CITY, May 20 -- Ilocos Norte Provincial Health Officer Dr. Rickson Balalio on Monday cited the need to hire additional health professionals to provide more accessible and efficient public services in the province.

In 2022, the provincial government hired 22 doctors, 26 nurses, 14 medical technicians and five radiology technicians but Balalio said more are needed, given the ongoing improvement of healthcare facilities.

"The main problem in our healthcare system is the lack of manpower. Even though we have so many projects on infrastructure development and acquisition of equipment if we do not meet the manpower requirements, all these will not succeed," he said in an interview.

Ilocos Norte's provincial board confirmed Balalio's ap...