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THE
Armed Forces welcomed on Monday a proposal to integrate
members of the New People’s Army (NPA) who have already
returned to the fold of law into the military and the
police.
Lt. Col.
Bartolome Bacarro, Armed Forces pubic information
officer, said the intention of the proposal by Kabalikat
ng Malayang Pilipino Rep. Jose Solis of Sorsogon for
former rebels to join the police and military services
in order for the country to achieve a lasting peace and
spur economic growth “is laudable.”
But he
said there may also be a negative side, which can be
best amplified along with its positive effects, when the
proposal is raised on the floor of the House of
Representatives.
“The
intention of the bill, which is to fast-track [the peace
process] is good, but of course there will be arguments.
There can be positive and negative sides which would
come out once the bill is debated. So let us just wait,”
Bacarro said.
In his
proposal, Solis recommended the integration of former
NPA guerrillas who have surrendered to the government
into the Armed Forces and the National Police in order
to help attain lasting peace and continue the
development of the country.
Solis
said the integration of the former rebels into the
military and the police may yet be the solution in the
effort to end the longest insurgency in Asia.
“Enough
of war. The time has come to open the window for
reconciliation and solidarity by means of integration,”
Solis declared in his bill.
Bacarro
said the proposal should be debated on the floor of the
House in order to thresh out its bad and good sides
which, when that time comes, both the Armed Forces and
the National Police may have already finalized their
respective positions.
He said,
for now they have yet to study the bill as what had come
out was just a general idea behind the proposed measure.
Bacarro
said he believes that the bill includes considerations
on the qualifications of the integrees just like in the
case of former members of the Moro National Liberation
Front who have joined the military.
In
filing his bill, Solis said that every effort to find a
resolution to the conflict must be exhausted as the Left
continuously threatens the country’s peace and
stability.
He said
accepting the former rebels back into the folds of law
and eventually providing them access to existing
government socioeconomic services and integration
program are essential to lasting peace.
Solis
proposed that of the vacancies in the National Police,
1,500 posts should be allotted to former NPA members and
a similar number should be given to the military.
He,
however, said that the training programs for those who
surrender must conform with the existing laws, rules and
procedures. |
