Philippines to upgrade army to counter insurgents

---

MANILA, July 2 (Reuters): Philippine President Benigno Aquino III said Friday the military would get the weapons and equipment it needed to end insurgencies, saying without stability the country could not attract investment to fund development.
Lieutenant-General Ricardo David, the new army chief, in turn pledged loyalty to democracy and set the 130,000 strong military a three-year deadline to defeat long-running insurgencies by Maoist-led guerrillas and Muslim separatists.
"Tell us what you need and we will give it to you as long as they are based on principles or professionalism and utilitarianism," Aquino, the army's commander-in-chief under the constitution, told soldiers at Manila's main military base.