MANILA, Philippines — Enriquez-owned Allied Care Experts (ACE) Group is further expanding its hospital footprint in Central Luzon after receiving a P715-million loan from state-run Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) to bankroll the construction of the first medical facility in Bataan.
DBP president and CEO Emmanuel Herbosa said that the ACE Group would use the loan package to bankroll the completion of the Mt. Samat Medical Center (MSMC).
Herbosa said that MSMC is the first hospital in the third class municipality of Pilar and would be the largest medical facility along the Bataan Provincial Highway.
Herbosa added that the hospital in Bataan is also the 35th hospital managed by the Enriquez firm.
DBP senior vice president Catherine Camarao said that the proposed hospital could provide outpatient and in-patient services as a Level Two hospital, catering to residents of Pilar and nearby areas.
The four-story hospital adds 107 beds to the total capacity in Bataan, raising the province’s bed-to-population ratio to 1:747, from 1:825, in compliance with the Department of Health’s standard of 1:1,000.
Camarao said that the loan to ACE Group was granted through the Strategic Healthcare Investment for Enhanced Lending (SHIELD) program of the DBP.
Under SHIELD, public and private-owned hospitals on all levels and classifications may avail of credit assistance from the DBP either for their development, renovation or modernization.
Private borrowers like the ACE Group may get financing of up to 70 percent of the project cost.
The interest rate is based on its benchmark rate plus credit spread and requires the borrower to pay the loan within 15 years with a grace period of three years.