After the fighting has stopped, what is there to do in Muslim Mindanao?
With the comprehensive peace agreement between the national government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front having led to the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), the task now is to find ways to ensure lasting peace and promote sustainable development.
Restoring peace and order in Muslim Mindanao is a priority of the Philippine National Police.
This was underscored by PNP Chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. recently when he gave assurances in a recent gathering of BARMM leaders called the LGU Fellowship Program on Social Cohesion and Resilience that the institution will “continue to work hand-in-hand with LGUs, civil society organizations, and communities to break down barriers, build bridges of understanding and pave the way for peace and progress.”
The meeting, organized by Project CIRCLE (Communities of Inclusion and Resilience through Collaborative Local Engagements) brought together a pioneering batch of leaders from different towns in Basilan, Lanao del Sur, and Maguindanao del Sur to discuss innovative polices, programs and plans to counter violent extremism and consolidate gains already achieved in promoting social harmony, sustainability and resilience in BARMM.
The message delivered by the country’s top cop before the gathering of BARMM leaders is timely and appropriate as the PNP will be taking a lead role along with the military in maintaining peace and order in the region after decades of armed conflict.
In fact, the PNP has already started the screening of applicants consisting of former members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Moro National Liberation Front who want to join the police force.
Some 700 applicants from the MILF and 300 from the MNLF will soon undergo a battery of tests to determine if they are physically and mentally fit to become police officers.
At least 7,145 MILF and MNLF members passed the qualifying examination to enter the police force last year.
The BARMM leadership has endorsed 1,000 since the quota of the PNP for this year’s recruitment is only 400.
Once hired by the PNP, the former rebels have to obtain a bachelor’s degree within 15 years for their appointment status in the PNP to become permanent. Successful applicants will be assigned in the BARMM.
The integration of former Muslim rebels into the PNP is part and parcel of the peace agreements between the government and the MNLF/MILF.
The former rebels-turned peacekeepers can help facilitate dialogue between the regional government and the communities they serve, and thus help maintain law and order in Mindanao which has been a hotbed of armed rebellion since the 1970s.