Section 1August 12, 2009, Sec./Art. 1

Section 30(j) of Republic Act No. 6975, as amended by Section 14 of Republic Act No. 8551, is hereby further amended to read asfollows:

"SEC. 30. General Qualifications for Appointment. - No person shall be appointed as officer or member of the PNP unless he or she possesses the following minimum qualifications:

"x x x

"(j) For a new applicant, must not be less than twenty-one (21) nor more than thirty (30) years of age: Provided, That except for the last qualification, 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 PNP members who are already in the service upon the effectivity of Republic Act No. 8551 shall be given five (5) years to obtain the minimum educational qualification preferably in law enforcement related courses, to be reckoned from the date of the effectivity of this amendatory Act: Provided, furthermore, That for concerned PNP members rendering more than fifteen (15) years of service and who have exhibited exemplary performance as determined by the Commission, shall no longer be required to comply with the aforementioned minimum educational requirement.

"x x x."