CITY OF SAN FERNANDO– A Singapore-based firm is set invest at least P500 million worth of equipment and technology for a cancer treatment and management center in the capital city of Pampanga.
TE Asia Healthcare Partners (TE Asia) has collaborated with Mount Grace Hospital Inc. and Mother Teresa of Calcutta Medical Center (MTCMC) to establish the first state-of-the-art cancer center in Central Luzon.
The parties formalized the partnership with the contract signing at the MTCMC audio-visual room on Wednesday, July 19.
Rhais Gamboa, MTCMC Chief Executive Officer, said the cancer center will be housed in a P150-million four-storey building to be built within the next 10 months.
The cancer center will be operational by July next year.
For the equipment alone, TE Asia is infusing at least half a billion pesos, to cater to three branches of cancer treatment and management– chemotherapy, radiotherapy (brackytherapy, tomotherapy and positron emission tomography scan) and surgery.
While MCTMC has already invested in its own tomotherapy center, the partnership will bring in additional equipment such as linear accelerator, a cutting-edge technology for tomotherapy.
Tomotherapy or helical tomotherapy (HT), according to Wikipedia, is a type of radiation therapy in which the radiation is delivered slice byslice.
Gamboa said the entry of TE Asia in the Philippine medical industry is “somewhat a vote of confidence to the country’s economy.”
TE Asia was established in 2014 to address the explosive growth in healthcare services demand in Asia.
It has investment partnerships in Hong Kong, Indonesia and Vietnam, according to Eng Aik Meng, TE Asia Chief Executive Officer.
Eng said the Philippines has “excessive demand but limited supply of treatment centers for cancer.”
Aside from the funds to be infused for the center, Filipino partners MTCMC and MGHI expect to capitalize on the access to knowledge and technology that the partnership offers.
Gamboa said their group can benchmark TE Asia’s best practices in their other operations in Asia to provide the best health care services for the Filipinos, most especially to Kapampangans.
Vilma Caluag, MTCMC founder and currect board of directors member, said the cancer center offers convenient access for residents of Pampanga and even the entire North Luzon.
“Those who are seeking the best treatment for cancer need not suffer the inconvenience of traveling to Metro Manila. We will be glad to serve them here at MTCMC,” Caluag said.
