By Jaime Pilapil and Romie A. Evangelista

THE military and police tolerate homosexuals within their ranks?as long as they are not openly gay, officials said yesterday.

Armed Forces Chief Alexander Yano said the military was open to gay recruits as long as they didn?t show their tendencies.

?As of now we don?t have a policy on the admittance of soldier candidates who are gay,? Yano said.

Brig. Gen. Gaudencio Pangilinan, civil relations chief, added: ?If you are qualified, I guess we are not biased against the third sex.?

A spokesman for the National Police said the same was true of law enforcement.

?The Philippine National Police does not discriminate against men who are gays and women who are lesbians entering the service after rigorous mental and physical examinations,? said Director German Doria, chief of the agency?s community relations group.

?What we are against is their open display of their being lesbians or homosexuals.?

The policy?or lack of it?regarding homosexual recruits came into focus after the Armed Forces said it was recruiting 6,700 news soldiers this year. The National Police wants to add 7,000 recruits to its force.

Officials said an undisclosed number of gay officials ?who brought scandal to the institution? were dismissed but added that did not mean homosexuals were unwanted.

?We don?t discriminate against any sector of society,? said Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres, Armed Forces public affairs chief.

?We want to reach out to the most number of applicants so there will be a broad base of selection.?

The military has no statistics on the number of gays in the service, but officials acknowledge they are a part of the service.

Army Chief Victor Ibrado said he knew some gay officers who never showed their homosexual tendencies when they were at the Philippine Military Academy.

Yano also acknowledged that some PMA graduates were gay.

Neither would say if the military would issue an official position on admitting gays, but they both said the Armed Forces would not tolerate ?scandalous acts? in the barracks.

?For as long as you do not bother anybody and you do not cause any scandal, then there is no problem,? Ibrado said.

Doria said what homosexual police officers did when off-duty was their business, but they should stay away from gay bars and nightclubs.

?We cannot prevent them from pursuing happiness,? Doria said.

?Doing so would be a violation of human rights. We respect their private lives.?

Doria said at no stage in the recruitment process were candidates asked about their sexual preferences.

?But once they are sworn in, they are required to always observe proper conduct. It is not yet accepted in our culture that gay or lesbian police officers publicly display their sexual preference.?