Top police officials and executives of tertiary hospitals in Metro Cebu are set to meet tomorrow to discuss concerns involving the access of police investigators to hospitals when responding to crimes or when investigating injured crime suspects brought to these hospitals.
Chief Supt. Patrocinio Comendador, director of the Police Regional Office in CentralVisayas (PRO-7), said the meeting would address the security and safety issues in the hospitals while police investigating teams are in their premises.
“Our objective is to draft a memorandum of understanding on common protocols in treating the issues,” said Comendador.
Representatives from Metro Cebu hospitals, Department of Health (DOH), private security agencies, prosecutor offices, traffic personnel and homicide sections of the Philippine National Police (PNP) would be attending the meeting, he said.
“We should meet halfway. They have concerns. We also have concerns,” said Comendador.
The dialogue was set after homicide investigators were barred from entering the DOH-run Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) to talk to a victim of shooting incident last week.
In earlier interviews, Comendador had said he planned to file charges for obstruction of justice against hospitals that refused to cooperate with the PNP.