MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine National Police is set to recruit civilian volunteers to beef up the defense system in Mindanao in case of another attack by Moro rebels.
PNP spokesman Chief Supt. Nicanor Bartolome said the hiring process will be similar to that of the military's employing of Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu).
Bartolome said the hired civilian volunteers will be furnished with firearms and given allowances and uniforms.
"They will be called police auxiliaries," he said.
Bartolome made the announcement two days after Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels attacked Kolambugan town in Lanao del Norte where a number of civilians were killed.
The police official said the move is to ensure that certain villages in Mindanao, particularly in North Cotabato and Lanao del Norte, will be safe when police and military left the areas for another mission.
"We are continuously strengthening the defense of areas especially with common boundaries where movements of armed groups have been detected,"
Bartolome said.
Bartolome allayed fears that the recruitment and arming of civilian volunteers will lead to lawlessness in the area.
"These volunteers will be properly trained, just like the Cafgu of the Armed Forces. We will not just get anyone and then arm them. Before doing so, they will be properly selected, they will properly trained," he said.
He added that the recruitment will be done in coordination with local government units, as mandated in Executive Order 546.
As much as possible, Bartolome said those who will be hired would be residents of areas where the defense system will be put since the idea is for them to serve as augmentation to the local police once the cops and military personnel earlier deployed pull out.
He added that several firearms, mostly shotguns, were already sent in some areas in the affected areas of recent clashes as part of the putting up of defense systems.
The salary and the area assignments of the hired volunteers, however, are yet to be determined. - GMANews.TV