Maj. Gen. Efren Abu, acting Army chief and commanding general of the 2nd Infantry Division, said the graduates will be deployed to various units of the Armed Forces’ Southern Command, particularly the 4th and 6th Infantry Divisions.
He said the graduates still have to complete two more months of platoon leadership training before they are formally commissioned as second lieutenants in the Army.
The 60 integrees belong to the Buklod-Lahi class, the last batch of former MNLF combatants to be integrated into the Armed Forces since the program was first implemented on Sept. 2, 1996 with the signing of the final peace agreement between the government and the MNLF.
About 5,750 former MNLF fighters have been integrated into the Armed Forces, particularly the Army, 220 of them officers, and 5,530 enlisted personnel. However, 559 of the integrees have died in the line of duty.
Leading this year’s graduates was 2Lt. Haris Malang, the class president who received the Army Commanding General Saber Award.
Interestingly, three women were among the Buklod-Lahi graduates. The youngest member of the class was 22-year-old 2Lt. Mohammed Ampatuan, and the oldest, 52-year-old 2Lt. Hadji Nur Maraguir.
The graduates expressed willingness to fight the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) despite public perception that they might turn against the military and join their Muslim brothers.
"This is part of our job. We cannot avoid it. We have no other choice. We have to combat the enemy of the state and maintain peace in Mindanao as part of our agreement with the government," 2Lt. Julhasad Sappayani said.