State-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has extended P1.125-billion in funding support to help build the Marquee Doctors Medical Center, Inc. (MDMCI) in Pampanga thereby boosting the availability of quality and affordable health care services in the province, a top official said.
DBP President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel G. Herbosa said DBP’s credit assistance will be used for the construction of MDMCI’s eight-storey hospital building as well as to acquire various hospital machinery and equipment.
“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,” Herbosa said.
DBP is the fifth 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.
Once completed, MDMCI is envisioned to be a 200-bed Level 2 hospital and is expected to serve the medical requirements of about 411,000 residents of Angeles City and nearby towns. The credit assistance to MDMCI was approved by the DBP Board of Directors in October 2021.
DBP Senior Vice President for Development Lending Paul D. Lazaro said the loan to MDMCI was granted under the bank’s flagship program for the health sector, the Strategic Healthcare Investment for Enhanced Lending and Development Program or SHIELD.
He said as of end-December 2021, more than P31-billion has already been approved for 126 accounts under DBP SHIELD, which provides focused financing for investments in the health care sector to strengthen the country’s overall health care system and universal health coverage.
“DBP will continue to be a more focused catalyst towards an improved health care system in the country that is more responsive, accessible and affordable especially to Filipinos in underserved and remote areas,” Lazaro added.