Section 1May 08, 2009, Sec./Art. 1

Section 4 of Republic Act No. 9263 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 4. Professionalization and Upgrading of Qualification Standards in the Appointment of Uniformed Personnel to the BFP and the BJMP. - No person shall be appointed as uniformed personnel of the BFP and the BJMP unless he/she possesses the following minimum qualifications:

"a) A citizen of the Republic of the Philippines;

"b) A person of good moral character;

"c) Must have passed the psychiatric/psychological, drug and physical tests for the purpose of determining his/her physical and mental health;

"d) Must possess a baccalaureate degree from a recognized institution of learning;

"e) Must possess the appropriate civil service eligibility;

"f) Must not have been dishonorably discharged or dismissed for cause from previous employment;

"g) Must not have been convicted by final judgment of an offense or crime involving moral turpitude;

"h) Must be at least one meter and sixty-two centimeters (1.62 m.) in height for male, and one meter and fifty-seven centimeters (1.57 m.) for female: Provided, That a waiver for height and age requirements shall be automatically granted to applicants belonging to the cultural communities; and

"i) Must weight not more or less than five kilograms (5 kgs.) from the standard weight corresponding to his/her height, age and sex;

"Provided, That a new applicant must not be less than twenty-one (21) nor more than thirty (30) years of age: except for this particular provision, the above-enumerated qualifications shall be continuing in character and an absence of any one of them at any given time shall be a ground for separation or retirement from the service: Provided, further, That the uniformed personnel who are already in the service prior to the effectivity of this Republic Act No. 9263 shall be given another five (5) years to obtain the minimum educational qualification and appropriate civil service eligibility to be reckoned from the date of the effectivity of this act: Provided, furthermore, that concerned BFP and BJMP members who have rendered more than fifteen (15) years of service at the time of the effectivity of this Act shall no longer be required to comply with the aforementioned educational and eligibility requirements.

Likewise those personnel who have acquired National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) eligibility prior to the effectivity of Republic Act No. 9263 shall no longer be required to obtain the appropriate civil service eligibility: Provided, finally, That within the five-year extension period stipulated herein, the issue of whether or not the BFP shall be devolved to local government units shall be revisited by Congress, and as circumstances demand, be immediately implemented.

"After the lapse of the time period for the satisfaction of a specific requirement, current uniformed personnel of the BFP and the BJMP who will fail to satisfy any of the requirements enumerated under this Section shall be separated from the service if they are below fifty (50) years of age and have served in the government for less than twenty (20) years, or retired if they are from age fifty (50) and above and have served in the government for at least twenty (20) years without prejudice in either case to the payment of benefits they may be entitled to under existing laws."