Thursday, June 12, 2008 [ sunstar.com.ph ]
A SUBSIDIARY of First Pacific Company Ltd., which owns a significant stake in the Philippine Long Distance Co. (PLDT), is planning to build a hospital in Cebu.
Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of First Pacific and PLDT, said he is “talking to a local partner to put up a brand new hospital” in Cebu. He said the local partner which he declined to identify is already involved in hospital operations.
He told a news conference Tuesday in Makati that the talks has yet to be finalized and “the earliest we can break ground is next year.”
First Pacific subsidiary Metro Pacific Resources Inc. has shareholdings in Makati Medical Center and Davao Doctors’ Hospital, as well as a nine-percent stake in PLDT.
Pangilinan, who also chairs the PLDT board of directors, did not disclose potential sites for the hospital but when asked whether the future hospital in Cebu would be designed to tap the medical tourism potential of the province, he said “a convalescing (tourist would find it) helpful to convalesce in a nice beach like in Argao.”
Investment
He said Metro Pacific is looking at an investment of P1.5 billion while the company’s local (Cebu) partner will provide the land for the Cebu hospital, which would have “spa-like” facilities and probably “start with 300 beds.”
“Cebu is an area where we feel we need to have a presence,” he said. But he added that while Metro Pacific prefers to buy shares and invest in an existing hospital, “walang magbenta sa Cebu (nobody is selling in Cebu).”
“We prefer (to invest in) existing hospitals because they already have an established client base,” he said.
He said Metro Pacific is also looking at investing in hospitals in Pampanga, Pangasinan, Ilocos and Baguio.
Potential
He stressed, though, that Metro Pacific is investing in hospitals not to provide clients to PLDT’s medical or health care transcription arm, Spi.
“(Besides) doctors in the Philippines have not yet adopted medical transcription,” he said. He pointed out that the Philippines, in general, has “excellent” potential in medical tourism, especially since Filipino doctors “have better bedside manners” than their counterparts in other parts of the world.
He said, though, that hospitals where Metro Pacific has a stake in cater mainly to local residents but existing, as well as future facilities, would adopt international health care standards.
Metro Pacific, he said, is looking at creating a network of hospitals that will allow the group to purchase materials—like bandages and syringes, among others—in bulk so services can be offered at lower rates to patients.
“We’re talking with pharmaceutical companies,” he said, but refrained from disclosing details of possible arrangements with drug companies. (LAP)
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