AFP needs 20,000 more men-of-arms

THE Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) needs additional soldiers to augment its 120,000-strong force. AFP would be recruiting an additional 20,000 soldiers in the next three years or until 2016 to strike a balance on the population to security ratio because of the fast increasing Filipino population.

Army chief Lt. Gen. Noel Coballes on Tuesday said they would also provide soldiers with new modern equipment and train them as well on urban warfare, among other trainings, following lessons they learned from the three-week siege of Zamboanga by the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) rebels.