Metro Briefs: June 7, 2019

New medical center to serve Metro cops

More than 27,000 policemen and their families are expected to benefit from a new medical center that will be built inside Camp Bagong Diwa, headquarters of the National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO), in Taguig City. Police Gen. Oscar Albayalde, Philippine National Police chief, and Police Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, NCRPO director, led the groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday for the P500-million NCRPO Medical Center and Administrative Processing Center. The four-story, 7,000-square-meter complex will serve   NCRPO personnel and their dependents. —DEXTER CABALZA

Commuters ask MMDA to shelve Edsa policies

Adjust fares for buses and designate midstops for UV Express vans. These were among the recommendations of commuter groups to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) as the agency hammers out details of how to enforce the Edsa ban on provincial buses and apprehension of UV Express vans that do not operate terminal-to-terminal. The meeting, which was attended by transport sector representatives, was also a last-ditch effort to convince the MMDA to shelve the policies expected to take effect this month. The policies are anticommuter, antipoor and illogical, and could actually worsen traffic along Edsa, said Ateneo professor Adel Briones of the Affiliated Network for Social Accountability-East Asia and the Pacific.   —KRIXIA SUBINGSUBING

Cops arrest Indian on rape complaint

Police arrested an Indian national in Valenzuela City on Wednesday for allegedly raping a college freshman. The suspect reportedly assaulted sexually a 20-year-old girl he met through a dating app.  According to the Valenzuela Women and Children Protection Desk (WCPD), the victim and another friend went to the Indian’s house to meet up on late Tuesday and had a drinking spree. A member of the barangay’s Anti-Criminality Task Force arrived at the house after a witness to the abuse called the victim’s sister for help. —NIKKA VALENZUELA