DEVELOPMENT BANK of the Philippines (DBP) has extended a P1.125-billion loan to help finance the Marquee Doctors Medical Center, Inc. (MDMCI) in Pampanga, it said in a statement on Thursday.
DBP President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel G. Herbosa said the loan will be used to construct the eight-story hospital and to acquire other hospital machinery and equipment. The DBP’s board of directors approved the loan for the hospital in October 2021.
After construction, the MDMCI is seen to be a 200-bed Level 2 hospital, and is expected to serve the 411,000 residents of Angeles City and nearby towns.
“As the country’s premiere infrastructure bank, DBP has been extending essential financing to both private and public health care enterprises to ensure their sustained and viable operations as they endeavor to provide better medical services to the people,” Mr. Herbosa said.
A Level 2 hospital offers departmentalized clinical services, a respiratory unit, a general intensive care unit (ICU), a newborn ICU, a high-risk pregnancy unit, and a dental clinic in addition to Level 1 capabilities like consulting specialists, emergency and outpatient services, and isolation, surgical and maternity facilities.
DBP Senior Vice- President for Development Lending Paul D. Lazaro said the loan granted to MDMCI was under the bank’s Strategic Healthcare Investment for Enhanced Lending and Development Program (SHIELD), which is the state-run bank’s flagship program for the health sector.
He added that as of end-December 2021, over P31 billion had been approved for 126 accounts under SHIELD, which aims to finance investments in the healthcare sector and improve health coverage.
“DBP will continue to be a more focused catalyst towards an improved healthcare system in the country that is more responsive, accessible and affordable especially to Filipinos in underserved and remote areas,” Mr. Lazaro added.
DBP is the fifth-largest bank in the country in terms of assets and helps finance the sectors of infrastructure, micro, small and medium enterprises, the environment, social services and community development.
The state-run lender’s net income as of Sept. 31, 2021 was at P1.93 billion, based on latest available data. In 2020, DBP booked a net profit of P3.9 billion, down by 30.4% year on year, amid higher credit loss provisions and operating expenses. — T.J. Tomas