PNP wants more ex-Moro rebel recruits

The Philippine National Police is open to accepting more former combatants of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) into its force. The PNP said it does not see any security risks in doing so.

According to PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo, some 100 former MILF and MNLF members who recently completed a six-month field training course are set to join the PNP.

She said the newly reintegrated former Moro guerrillas would serve as examples for the remaining active combatants to choose the path of peace and return to the fold of the law.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Monday graced the graduation ceremony of the Bangsamoro Police Basic Recruit Course Batch 2023-01 at Camp Pendatun, Parang, Maguindanao del Norte.

“No less than the President mentioned in his speech that this is the start of the reforms, especially in conflict areas in Mindanao,” Fajardo said.

“It is because those who used to fight the government have now embraced our aspiration for lasting peace and order in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao,” she added.

The 100 new PNP personnel from the MILF and MNLF, including eight women, have been deployed to police stations as observers prior to actual duty.

The second batch, composed of 292 police recruits from the MILF and MNLF, took their oath last December and are undergoing six months of basic police training.

A total of 7,145 applicants, composed of 2,183 MNLF and 4,962 MILF members, passed the PNP pre-requisite exam.