Many serious pediatric cases require repeated visits, long stays and costly travel to Metro Manila where advanced hospitals are located. With the opening of the newly built Jose B. Lingad Children’s Medical Center (JBLCMC) in Clark, Pampanga, families with ailing children can reduce the financial and emotional burden of medical treatment.

The hospital also adds to the government’s push for specialty care outside the National Capital Region, which means more patients in Luzon can receive expert care nearer to home.

JBLCMC, which is under the Department of Health, was formally opened by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and First Lady Liza A. Marcos on 24 July. He and Bloomberry Resorts Corp. (BRC) chairman Enrique K. Razon Jr. led the unveiling of the JBLCMC marker.

BRC, operator of the Solaire integrated resort, donated P1 billion for the construction of the hospital in 2023. The amount is the biggest donation for a medical facility construction so far by the BRC’s corporate social responsibility arm, Bloomberry Cultural Foundation Inc. (BCFI).

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation donated P500 million worth of state-of-the-art medical equipment for the JBLCMC.

BCFI also donated P300 million for the construction of the Mother and Child Hospital in Eastern Visayas, which started operation in August 2016, and P500 milion for the building of the OFW Hospital in Pampanga.