MANILA – The state-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has granted a PHP730 million loan to a fledgling hospital chain to build the first Level 2 hospital in Quezon province, a top official said.
In a statement Friday, DBP president and chief executive officer Emmanuel Herbosa said the bank’s credit support to the Allied Care Experts (ACE) Medical Center Sariaya, Inc. will finance the construction and development of a seven-story hospital building with a 104-bed capacity in the municipality of Sariaya, Quezon.
“(The) DBP supports this latest ACE project as it will help address the pressing need for higher quality medical care in Sariaya and the entire Quezon province,” Herbosa said. “Financing infrastructure projects that will produce a ripple effect in communities remains a top priority for DBP, especially during these challenging times.”
The DBP is the sixth-largest bank in the country in terms of assets and provides credit support to four strategic sectors of the economy – infrastructure and logistics; micro, small and medium enterprises; the environment; and social services and community development.
The ACE Medical Center Sariaya is one of the nine operating branches of the ACE Medical Center nationwide. Established by a group of doctors and other professionals led by founding chairman Dr. Amado Manuel Enriquez, the growing network of hospitals was established in 2011 with its first branch located in Subic Baypointe.
Herbosa said the new hospital is projected to increase the bed-to-population ratio in Quezon to 1:1,134 from the present 1:1,175 ratio.
The project will also upgrade the quality and augment the capacity of medical care available in Sariaya, which is served by only two community hospitals with a total bed capacity of 30.
“(The) DBP will remain as a reliable developmental institution for infrastructure initiatives of the country, especially those in the underserved areas, while constantly supporting the crucial needs of the health sector during this public health crisis,” he added. (PR)
