MANILA. Five thousand communist insurgents in the Philippines have been "neutralized" since 2002, the armed forces chief said yesterday, predicting victory over the guerrilla movement by 2010.

General Hermogenes Esperon said he was confident of a "strategic victory" after military clashes with the insurgents significantly reduced numbers in both the political and fighting arms of the communist movement.

"We are winning, we are on track and we are confident that we will continue to win," Esperon told reporters after a meeting with his military commanders.

Esperon said they will prioritize the annihilation of the 24 of the 52 active guerilla fronts this year.

AFP is expected to deploy over 2,500 troops to handle each guerrilla front and crush the remaining members of New People's Army, armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, which has been waging a campaign for 38 years to seize power.

President Gloria Arroyo steps down in 2010 and has vowed to drastically cut the influence and ranks of the communists before then.

Esperon said the combined ranks of the CPP and NPA had fallen from 11,900 in 2002 to 7,100 in 2006 and to 7,000 this year. He predicted a further fall to 3,500 by 2010.

"By that time we shall have attained the strategic victory over the Communist Party," Esperon said.

He would not reveal how many of the 5,000 insurgents since 2002 had been killed, captured, surrendered or simply dropped out of the movement.

Instead he said 1,789 clashes had occurred between the military and the communists last year alone resulting in the "neutralization" of 850 members.

Government forces also seized 556 firearms from the NPA last year, he said.

He credited the government's gains to a reorganization of military forces to directly confront the NPA, better coordination with local communities and improved public services to the hinterlands where they are strong.

On another front, Esperon said ranks of the Al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group had fallen to 452 as the military pressed its offensive against the group, preventing it from mounting new attacks.

There had been 99 "incidents" last year involving the military and the Muslim extremist group, blamed for some of the worst terror attacks in the nation's history, he said.

Eighty one Abu Sayyaf members had been "neutralized" and eight firearms recovered, he said.

He placed the strength of the group at 452, saying that a continuing offensive in their home island of Jolo had kept them on the run and prevented them from carrying out attacks.

The country suffers from both a communist insurgency raging in the rural areas of this archipelago as well as from Muslim extremist attacks in the southern islands where the country's Muslim minority is based.

Last month, the CPP/NPA vowed to stage more offensives and to exploit dissension within the military as part of their effort to topple Arroyo and seize power.