Major General Reynaldo Mapagu, newly-installed commanding general of the Philippine Army, vowed Friday to further intensify the military operations in order to defeat communist insurgency in the countryside in the next three months.

"We have made a lot of gains so we will sustain that and even push further yung efforts natin so that we can really make the communist insurgency inconsequential by June," said Mapagu, who assumed Friday the top Army post.

Mapagu said the success in the campaign to reduce the number of the New People's Army (NPA) fighting force will also serve as a go signal for the Philippine Army to shift its focus on defending the country from foreign aggression.

"And then of course, the Army will be ready its transition to external defense mode and at the same time address other non-traditional roles like disaster relief and rescue as a result of climate change." he said.

Military records revealed that the ant-insurgency operations in the provinces of Guimaras, Siquijor and Biliran were already turned over to the police and local government units in 2008.

The following year, the provinces ofMarinduque, Romblon, La Union, Bohol and Aurora have been declared insurgency-free, said outgoing chief military information officer Lieutenant Colonel Romeo Brawner in a recent interview.

"Soon to be declared insurgency-free during the first quarter of 2010 are the provinces of Tarlac, Cavite,Laguna, Batangas, Ilocos Norte, Apayao, Ifugao, Quirino, Pangasinan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Cebu, Southern Leyte, and Northern Leyte," said Brawner.

"Soon to be declared insurgency-free in the second quarter of 2010 are the provinces of Ilocos Sur, Benguet, Cagayan, Isabela, Bulacan, Bataan, Zambales, Misamis Oriental, and Sarangani," he added.

The military has been aggressively pushing to defeat the NPA this year and turned over the operations to the remaining communist rebels to the Philippine National Police. Military officials claimed that it has already reduced the number of NPA's fighting force to a little over 3,000 late last year.

Mapagu, a member of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class 1978, served as commander of the 10th Infantry Division based in Mindanao and chief of the military's National Capital Region Command (NCRCom).

He replaced Lieutenant General Delfin Bangit as Army Chief, as the latter was appointed as chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). Both Mapagu and Bangit belong to PMA Class 1978.

There is no announcement yet as to who will replace Mapagu as NCRCom chief.

In an interview, Mapagu thanked President Arroyo for his selection, as well as the AFP Board of Generals and Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzalez for recommending him to the Army top post.

"I would like to promise to all you that I will do my best to be able to do our job and with only the interest of the country at heart and perform really our mission with excellence," said Mapagu.