Vol. XXII, No. 151 [ BusinessWorld Online ]
Wednesday, March 4, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
METRO PACIFIC Investments Corp. (MPIC) has signed a long-term contract with the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila to manage the church-owned Cardinal Santos Medical Center following an interim, six-month deal to run the San Juan hospital.
The Pangilinan-led holding company told the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday unit Colinas Verdes Hospital Managers Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Medical Doctors, Inc., had entered into a long-term lease agreement with the Catholic Church to manage and operate the Cardinal Santos Medical Center for two decades starting March 1.
Under the deal, Colinas will set aside an initial budget of P250 million for the first three years of operation to upgrade Cardinal Santos medical facilities and enhance hospital services.
Cardinal Santos will be the third hospital to be integrated with MPIC’s nationwide chain of hospitals, following the holding company’s entry into the health care business four years ago with the acquisition of a third of the Makati Medical Center.
Cardinal Santos is a 212-bed hospital in a three-hectare property along Wilson St. in San Juan City. In August 1988, the Manila Archdiocese entered into a deal with Hospital Manager to operate Cardinal Santos for 10 years, which was extended for another decade.
MPIC earlier announced a plan to create a network of hospitals in Northern, Central and Southern Luzon and in the cities of Cebu, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, Bacolod, Zamboanga and General Santos.
Last month, the company said it was looking at about P1 billion in hospital investments this year and was in talks with several parties. The move is in line with MPIC’s goal of creating a nationwide chain of hospitals with a total capacity of 5,000 beds.
MPIC owns 34% of Davao Doctors Hospital, Inc. and a third of Medical Doctors, Inc., the owner and operator of the Makati Medical Center. — Kristine Jane R. Liu
___________________________________________________________________________