The Quirino Memorial Medical Center (QMMC) now provides free medico-legal services to individuals under investigation by the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) Station 8 in Project 4, Quezon City.
P/Lt. Col. Sandro Jay D.C. Tafalla, PS-8 station commander; QC 3rd District Rep. Allan Benedict Reyes; and Dr. Evelyn Victoria Recide, QMMC medical center chief, sign the MOA for subsidized medico-legal services at the Marilag Multi-Purpose Hall in Project 4, Quezon City. (NCB)
This was made possible through a P1-million fund assistance from the office of Quezon City third district Rep. Allan Benedict S. Reyes in a bid to facilitate improvement in the criminal justice system.
The arrangement with the QMMC was formalized on Wednesday, December 4, through the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for Subsidized Medico-Legal Services at the Marilag Multi-Purpose Hall, Project 4, Q. C.
Signatories to the MOA were Reyes, P/Lt. Col. Sandro Jay D.C. Tafalla, PS-8 station commander; and Dr. Evelyn Victoria Recide, QMMC medical center chief. Witnesses to the signing of the MOA that was notarized by Atty. Andreto Teleron, included P/Lt. Col. Christian dela Cruz, QCPD District Community Affairs and Development Division chief; Barangay Chairman Raul Addatu, Finance Officer Melanie Lomotan, and Atty. Gabriel L. Reyes.
A standard medico-legal examination would cost at least P300 and is a vital piece of evidence in police investigations and in subsequent legal proceedings.
Tafalla said that, oftentimes, victims of violent crimes are hard-pressed to afford medico-legal examination.
"Police stations do not have a fund to shoulder that, but we do. We get it from whatever savings we have; sometimes, from our own pockets. So this MOA with the QMMC and the fund from Congressman Reyes is a big help and a motivation for our investigators and personnel in the field who make the arrests," he said.
Addatu, who chairs the Station Advisory Council for Police Transformation and Development (SACPTD) of PS-8, said he hopes this cooperation among the three agencies of government becomes a model for other police stations in Quezon City and the rest of the country to help speed up the wheels of the criminal justice system.
For his part, Reyes thanked the QMMC for its service to its community in Project 4 and exhorted the officers of PS-8 to further improve peace and order in Project 4.
He also announced that a third floor facility for tech-voc education will be added soon to the Marilag Multi-Purpose Hall for the benefit of residents of Project 4 and District 3. (Contributed by Nate C. Barretto)