TAGBILARAN CITY -- Over 300 successful applicants have joined the police force in the region after taking their oaths on Wednesday at Camp Sergio Osmeña in Cebu City.

Superintendent Ernesto Agas, acting chief of the regional Philippine National Police (PNP) public information office, said in an e-mail statement that 354 applicants were given the rank of Police Officer 1 during the oath-taking before Chief Superintendent Lani-o Nerez, PNP regional director and National Police Commission (Napolcom) assistant regional director Ramon Rañeses.

The police regional office allotted 430 positions for the first semester under the PO1 recruitment program, but only 354 were admitted due to its strict adherence to qualifications in selection and recruitment, the statement said.

The rookies represented 68.60 percent of the 516 applicants, who underwent the selection process since recruitment started in February, Nerez said.

Under the PNP’s regular and attrition recruitment program, 3,000 new police officers are needed this year to replace more than 4,000 uniformed personnel who retired or were separated from service due to death, dismissal and resignation in the second semester of 2008 and the first semester of this year, he said.

Agas said the new police officers would undergo a six-month public safety basic recruit course under Superintendent Anthony Obenza, Regional Personnel Resource Doctrine and Development chief, at the Regional Training School in the village of Apas in Cebu City.

They will undergo orientation for 15 days before a field training program in big cities in Central Visayas. Chito Fuentes, Inquirer Visayas