State-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has granted P400-million funding support for the construction of the first and only Level-2 hospital in General Mariano Alvarez (GMA), Cavite to improve the delivery of critical healthcare services amidst residents’ rising healthcare demand, a top official said.
DBP President and Chief Executive Officer Michael O. de Jesus said the credit assistance to Healthstar Hospital and Medical Center – GMA, Inc. (HHMCI) under the Bank’s Strategic Healthcare Investments for Enhanced Lending & Development (SHIELD) is part of the Bank’s continuing commitment to extend credit support to broaden the capacity of healthcare providers in the country.
“DBP’s support to HHMCI reaffirms our commitment to providing critical support towards a more progressive and competitive healthcare sector in the country,” de Jesus said. “We are looking forward to working with more development partners in providing accessible and quality healthcare services to the Filipino people.”
DBP is the eighth 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; environment; social services and community development.
HHMCI is a start-up private corporation owned by practicing medical professionals and business experts in Cavite. It is located in the central business district of GMA and near various commercial establishments and industrial estates.
De Jesus said out of the total loan amount P278-million will partially finance the construction of a seven-storey hospital while the remaining P122-million will cover the acquisition of various medical equipment and machineries.
He said at present, GMA Cavite has only two healthcare facilities which are limited to providing basic healthcare services, prompting the Bank to extend the necessary credit assistance to HHMCI to help improve the overall hospital capacity of the municipality at par with national levels.
“Through this project, DBP hopes to address the increasing demand for responsive and quality healthcare services in the municipality and nearby areas,” de Jesus said.
DBP Senior Vice President and Head of Development Lending Sector Ma. Lourdes B. Gumba said that HHMCI is envisioned to be a 100-bed level 2 hospital and serve more than 500,000 residents of the 5th district of Cavite which includes the first-class municipalities of GMA, Silang, and Carmona as well as nearby Dasmariñas City.
She said the project is expected to contribute to the overall improvement of the healthcare sector in the municipality by providing residents access to state-of-the-art diagnostic facilities and by increasing the bed-to-population ratio in the municipality to 1:1,407 from the present 1:5,072.
“As of December 2022, DBP has approved 148 accounts under the SHIELD program with a total approved loan amount of Php38.95-million,” Olfindo said.