GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 17 July) — Members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) aspiring to join the Philippine National Police (PNP) can still apply until June 8, 2027.
This after the national and Bangsamoro governments adopted National Police Commission Resolution (NAPOLCOM) No. 2025-0461, which adjusted the “reckoning period” for the application of MILF and MNLF members to the PNP.
The parties adopted the resolution during the 22nd Intergovernmental Relations Body (IGRB) meeting held last July 14 in Quezon City. The IGRB serves as a joint mechanism for the national and Bangsamoro governments to push forward the Bangsamoro peace process.
The application period shall be adjusted from January 19, 2019 to June 9, 2022, which is the date of effectivity of NAPOLCOM Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 2022-001. The latter initially adopted a five-year application period from January 21, 2019 to January 20, 2024.
The adjustment for the application period was revealed Wednesday by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU).
Mohagher Iqbal, IGRB co-chair for the Bangsamoro government, noted that the adjustment augurs well for members of the two Moro fronts who are aspiring to join the PNP.
“This openness paves the way for a more inclusive and realistic path to normalization, ensuring that no one is left behind as we continue to build lasting peace,” Iqbal, also the MILF peace implementing panel chair, was quoted as saying by OPAPRU.
According to NAPOLCOM Resolution 2025-0461, “the Bangsamoro government maintains that the five-year period should be reckoned not from the ratification of the BOL (Bangsamoro Organic Law), but from a reasonable point of implementation, considering that the administrative and regulatory framework necessary for the application of MILF and MNLF members was only put in place in 2022.”
It also cited a letter from the Department of Justice dated May 2025, noting that “laws must not be interpreted in a manner that leads to injustice or absurd consequences, and emphasized that the spirit and intent of the law must prevail over its literal application.”
The NAPOLCOM stressed, “the principle of equity, good faith, and the overarching objective of peace-building demand that administrative delays should not prejudice otherwise qualified applicants whose integration into the security sector is crucial to the long-term success of the peace process.”
Through its latest resolution, the NAPOLCOM has granted the “continuation of the recruitment and processing of MILF and MNLF applicants into the PNP until June 8, 2027, subject to existing applicable rules and regulations, with no further extension.”
The entry of qualified members of the MILF and the MNLF into the national police force is provided under Section 2, Article XI of Republic Act No. 11054, or the Bangsamoro Organic Law, through the facilitation of the NAPOLCOM.
The inclusion of MILF and MNLF members into the PNP is seen as a realization of the key provisions contained in the Normalization track under the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).
Under the NAPOLCOM memorandum, the age, height, and educational attainment requirements of applicants may be waived to support the transition of MILF and MNLF members into the PNP, subject to existing rules and regulations.
Budget and Management Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman, IGRB co-chair for the national government, thanked the Department of the Interior and Local Government, headed by Secretary Jonvic Remulla, for “a very decisive action on this important matter.”
The NAPOLCOM is an agency under the DILG. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
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