Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific invests in De Los Santos Medical Center redevelopment

Metro Pacific Investments Corp., a unit of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., on Monday said it is investing to redevelop, renovate and expand De Los Santos Medical Center.

 

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Metro Pacific said an investment agreement was signed with shareholders of  De Los Santos General Hospital – owner and operator of  De Los Santos Medical – last Thursday.

 

The agreement would allow Metro Pacific to participate in a P250-million capital-raising exercise for De Los Santos General and give the Manuel Pangilinan-led company a 51-percent stake in De Los Santos General.

 

“As our different family members pursue other varied activities, we are happy to bring in as partners the largest private hospital chain in the country, as we know this can only be good for De Los Santos Medical Center and its patients," said Dr. Jose V. De Los Santos Jr., president and chief executive of De Los Santos General, representing the De Los Santos family. 

 

Lawyer Monico V. Jacob, president of investor Systems Technology Institute Inc., said the partnership with Metro Pacific will be good for De Los Santos General. 

 

"This will provide De Los Santos Medical with further hospital expertise, while we, at STI, will be able to focus on De Los Santos-STI College and our other educational institutions," he said.

 

Apart from redevelopment, the Metro Pacific investment will increase and improve the rooms and  clinics at  De Los Santos Medical, as well as upgrade the operating rooms and buy new medical equipment, according to the disclosure.

 

De Los Santos Medical is the seventh hospital chain under Metro Pacific, which brings its bed capcity to 2,000.

 

MPIC started in the business by investing Makati Medical Center, followed by Davao Doctors Hospital, Cardinal Santos Medical Center, Riverside Medical Center, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, and Asian Hospital and Medical Center.

 

Augie Palisoc Jr., executive director and president of the MPIC Hospital Group, said the company company is eyeing to start making the investments by the first quarter of next year.

 

De Los Santos Medial is a tertiary teaching and training hospital along E. Rodriguez Avenue in Quezon City, with an authorized capacity of 150 beds.

 

It was ounded by the late Dr. Jose V. De Los Santos Sr., who is considered the Father of Philippine Orthopaedics, in 1973. — VS, GMA News