The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) granted a P400-million loan to build the first Level-2 hospital in General Mariano Alvarez (GMA), Cavite, the Healthstar Hospital and Medical Center – GMA, Inc. (HHMCI).

HHMCI's 100-bed hospital will serve more than 500,000 residents of the 5th district of Cavite, including the first-class municipalities of GMA, Silang, and Carmona as well as Dasmariñas City.

The loan falls under the Strategic Healthcare Investments for Enhanced Lending & Development (SHIELD) to broaden the capacity of hospitals in the country, DBP President and Chief Executive Officer Michael O. de Jesus announced Thursday, March 16.

Already, DBP has approved 148 accounts under the SHIELD program with a total approved loan amount of P38.95 Billion as of December, 2022.

“DBP’s support to HHMCI reaffirms our commitment to providing critical support towards a more progressive and competitive healthcare sector in the country,” he elaborated.

“We are looking forward to working with more development partners in providing accessible and quality healthcare services to the Filipino people.”

HHMCI is a start-up private corporation owned by practicing medical professionals and business experts in Cavite.

It is located in the central business district of GMA and near various commercial establishments and industrial estates.

Out of its total loan amount, P278-million will partially finance the construction of a seven-storey hospital while the remaining P122-million will cover the acquisition of various medical equipment and machineries.

At present, GMA Cavite has only two healthcare facilities limited to providing basic healthcare services.

The HHMCI project will increase the bed-to-population ratio in the municipality to 1:1,407 from the present 1:5,072

DBP is the eighth 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; environment; social services and community development.