Height requirement for security forces cut

MANILA, Philippines — Shorter Filipinos now have a shot at joining the government’s uniformed service after President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law Republic Act 11549, which lowers the minimum height requirement for applicants to the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, and Bureau of Corrections.

The new law reset the minimum height limit for males at 1.57 meters (5 feet, two inches), down from 1.62 meters (5 feet, 4 inches). For females, the new minimum height requirement is 1.52 meters (5 feet) from 1.57 m (5 ft, 2 in).

—LEILA B. SALAVERRIA