File photo of BARMM logo
MANILA, Philippines — A total of 102 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) have passed the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) police force recruitment process and took their oath as new cops on Thursday.
In a statement, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said out of the 102 candidates, 52 members were from MILF and 50 from MNLF. The breakdown of successful candidates includes 94 men and eight women.
According to the force, the new members came from the 7,145 initial applicants who passed the Special Qualifying Eligibility Examination (SQEE) conducted in Cotabato and Lamitan last May 29.
The recruitment process began last April 7, after the BARMM government and the National Police Commission (Napolcom) forged an agreement, allowing eligible members of both groups to take SQUEE pursuant to the commission’s Resolution No. 2022-0081.
“Today’s oath-taking is a product of cooperation. A collective commitment of all the parties involved. The processes involved in putting into effect the provisions of Republic Act No. 11054, otherwise known as the Bangsamoro Organic led to the incorporation of MILF and MNLF members in the PNP,” Lt. Gen. Rhodal Sermonia, the deputy chief for administration said.
“It is an evolving process and a continuing experience for all of us peace advocates and stakeholders. I want to thank our young Filipino Muslims for rejecting the path of radicalism, violent extremism, and terrorism and for choosing the path of peace and public service,” he added.