LandBank OKs P94.5 million loan for state-owned Sorsogon oxygen-generating plant

The Land Bank of the Philippines over the weekend said it gave authorization for a P94.5-million term loan for the construction of a government-owned oxygen-generating plant in Sorsogon Province.

Under the agreement, LandBank will finance the purchase and installation of the facility, which will be stationed at the Sorsogon Provincial Hospital, in partnership with the provincial government.

The plant is expected to lower the costs for tank refilling to P157 per tank from the current P490, as the province sources medical oxygen from one supplier in Camarines Sur.

The financing is expected to be completed in early 2022, under the state lender’s boost to support local government units in providing basic health services amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“LandBank remains committed to serving the nation at the frontlines of our battle against the pandemic,” LandBank President and Chief Executive Officer Cecilia Borromeo said in an emailed statement.

“Alongside our LGU partners, we stand ready to service growth and recovery requirements, which include boosting local healthcare services and providing support to medical frontliners and their constituents.”

LandBank earlier financed a P29-million oxygen plant in Silay City for the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental, supplying medical-grade oxygen to the majority of the district hospitals in the province.

The oxygen plant has been providing free medical oxygen to local public health, institutions, and COVID-isolation facilities such as the Cadiz City District Hospital, Valladolid District Hospital, Provincial Healing Center in EB Magalona, and the Teresita Lopez Jalandone Provincial Hospital in Silay.

The Philippines on Saturday, September 18, recorded 23,134 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the country’s active cases to 184,088.

The latest total caseload is now at 2,347,550, including 2,126,879 recoveries and 36,583 deaths. — DVM, GMA News