MANILA, Philippines - The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has granted a 10-year term loan to the Ilocandia Medical Group Inc. (imgI), with an aggregate amount of P135.65 million, as part of efforts to improve the delivery of health care services in the province. Proceeds from the loan will be used to finance construction of an additional hospital building and the purchase of machineries and equipment of Northside Doctors Hospital (NDH), a 100-bed level 2 health care facility located in Bantay, Ilocos Sur. The province of Ilocos Sur’s population of 658,587 is presently being served by 20 private and nine government hospitals with an aggregate bed capacity of only 769. Thus the existing bed to population ratio is 1:856 against the World Health Organization standard hospital bed ratio of 1:500. The presence of NDH has already improved bed-to-population ratio from 1:856 to 1:757.