168 ex-CPLA combatants to become part of military

From InterAksyon (Jan 13): 168 ex-CPLA combatants to become part of military

Members of the former rebel group Cordillera People's Liberation Army (CPLA) are set to formally start their integration into the Armed Forces of the Philippines on Monday, January 14, at the 5th Infantry Division's Camp Melchor Dela Cruz in Barangay Upi, Isabela.  The CPLA is now known as the Cordillera Forum on Peace and Development (CFPD). "We have been preparing for this moment. We have our list of candidates. We have our documents," said CFPD chairman Arsenio Humiding. Humiding said 168 former combatants would undergo the integration process.

Administrative Order No 18, signed by President Benigno Aquino III in 2011, set out the first wave of integration of CPLA members into the military. The former rebels will undergo a two-month candidate soldier course and a 45-day specialization training. They will then be deployed to areas under the watch of the 5th ID before being incorporated into the tactical units of the military. “This acceptance to the regular force of the AFP shows government's sincerity and decisiveness in concluding the memorandum of agreement with the CPLA, said Humiding. A separate recruitment of former combatants into the Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit is also in the pipeline.

 http://www.interaksyon.com/article/52589/168-ex-cpla-combatants-to-become-part-of-military