PLDT’s Pangilinan to join Makati Med board

The Makati Medical Center (MMC) will soon have on board a top-notch financial man in the person of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) president Manuel Pangilinan.

MMC president Gavino Mendoza confirmed yesterday that Pangilinan has agreed to join the hospital’s Board of Directors.

Not only will he be a member of the board, but will actually be the chairman since he will undoubtedly be elected to the position on July 26 .

Mendoza, in an interview, said they have long been inviting Pangilinan to join their team and they are grateful that he has finally said yes.

"We want him here because of his wisdom and his judgment. We know he can help us make proper decisions," he told The STAR.

Pangilinan, he noted, is an expert in management, especially on finances based on his long list of achievements.

"He has a long history of being a top-notch financial man. He even has an investment banking office in Hong Kong," Mendoza said.

Pangilinan, he stressed, will undoubtedly be elected chairman of the board by 11 board members and other MMC officials like chairman emeritus Raul Fores, the former hospital president.

Teaming up with Pangilinan are Paquito Dizon, former chairman of the board of the Philippine National Bank (PNB); Judy Roxas, mother of Sen. Mar Roxas and five doctors.

Mendoza believes Pangilinan can make a difference and help turn around the financial status of the hospital, which has been suffering loses for the past years.

It can be recalled that MMC management was forced to retrench some 300 employees last month in order to cut expenses.

The retrenchment almost resulted in bigger problems after members of the Makati Medical Center Employees Association (MAMACEA) threatened to go on strike.

Mendoza and his team, however, managed to avert disaster after convincing union officials that they had no other choice but to retrench. Management also promised additional benefits for those who lost their jobs.

The union decided to call off the strike after a series of meetings, discussions, debates and dialogues that lasted four weeks.

Mendoza said hospital management was able to convince union representatives that the MMC was truly in financial distress and could not reinstate those who were retrenched.

The MMC however, explained that it had no choice since it has been losing money for the past three years and is now trying to bring the hospital back on its feet.

With bank debts of P1.2 billion, the hospital has to pay P300 million for write-offs and another P211 million in interest expenses.

It incurred loses at the amount of P155 million due to peso-euro exchange rate increases, spent P465 million for employees salaries and other benefits alone in 2004, and now has an occupancy rate of 53 to 69 percent, short of the 70 percent target.

Mendoza said the MMC is now re-organizing, dissolving, combining and changing departments and offices as part of the efforts to improve hospital management schemes without affecting the quality of service to patients.