RSA to build hospital in Laguna

MANILA, Philippines — Tycoon Ramon Ang, president and COO of San Miguel Corp., plans to build a state-of-the-art hospital in Laguna.

Ang said a 10-hectare land was acquired beside Brent International School Manila in Biñan, Laguna for the planned hospital, which was announced in September last year.

“I’m looking at the viability of the area, whether people can easily go to the hospital. Because if you put up a hospital, it’s important that it is accessible to ordinary employees and patients,” he said.

“If there is available public transport going to the area, then I will proceed in building that right away,” Ang said.

In September last year, Ang announced plans to put up a hospital in southern Luzon as the pilot project of RSA Foundation.

The Biñan property was acquired after the previously announced three- to five-hectare land in southern Luzon became unviable due to local government issues, Ang said.

The healthcare facility will specialize in research on infectious diseases and providing care for ambulatory patients. This is intended to to treat more patients from vulnerable or disadvantaged communities for sicknesses that typically won’t require hospitalization.

The hospital will also house a research facility to provide support for government on public health concerns, specifically, infectious diseases.

It is envisioned to help arm and better prepare the country’s healthcare system to deal with health crises and other local and global outliers.

Ang said the coronavirus pandemic exposed the weakness of the country’s health infrastructure.

“This pandemic has been an eye-opener for all of us. Our healthcare system needs to be strengthened. For this reason, we want to help build up our country’s capability to handle future pandemics and other health crises,” he said.

“We envision this hospital to be resilient and adaptable. It will operate efficiently, improve health services and make health care more accessible and affordable to a greater number of Filipinos,” Ang said