MANILA, Philippines?Members of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo?s hastily formed commission to dismantle private armies on Tuesday took their oath, challenging Ms Arroyo to show strong resolve to implement their recommendations later on.

Dante Jimenez said he and other commissioners would not stop at simply submitting recommendations to Ms Arroyo on how to put an end to the decades-old problem of private armed groups in the country.

Jimenez said the commission would need Ms Arroyo?s unwavering commitment to implement strategies that would be crafted in the course of its four-month inquiry.

?We will make this very clear when we submit our recommendations,? he told reporters after the oath-taking ceremony at the Premiere Guest House in Malacañang.

?Once we have the recommendations and if the President approves them, then we will see that she has political will.?

Commission chair

Named commission chair was retired Court of Appeals Associate Justice Monina Arevalo-Zenarosa.

They are joined by Butuan Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos, Mahmod Mala Adilao of the Ulama-Bishops Conference, retired Brig. Gen. Jaime Echeverria, retired Police Deputy Director General Virtus Gil, and broadcaster Herman Basbano.

Echeverria said the commission would have its first meeting on Thursday morning in Malacañang.

Jimenez proposed that the commission come up with a mechanism later on to monitor the implementation of its future recommendations to ensure that private armies would no longer exist.

Political dynasties

He said the problem could be traced to the presence of political dynasties.

Basbano was optimistic that the commission could come up with concrete solutions to the problem despite the tight four-month deadline given by Ms Arroyo.

He acknowledged that the period was a ?mismatch? compared to the long years in which private armies had come into existence.

?Do not underestimate the resolve of the commission to confront this problem,? he said. ?It?s better that we?re doing something now rather than just talk.?