MANILA, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine military on Monday deployed nearly 100 Army soldiers to poor residential communities in Metro Manila in an effort to thwart the alleged recruitment activities of the New People's Army (NPA) rebels.

    More soldiers are going to be deployed this week in Metro Manila where over 100 soldiers are stationed at present, Ricardo Visaya, commander of the Army's Civil Military Operations Battalion told a press conference.

    The military are seeing the NPA rebels intensifying their recruitment, said Visaya, who added that the new deployment of soldiers in Marikina City, the eastern suburb of Manila is a "preventive measure."

    The officer confirmed the deployment of the three platoons or 80 soldiers in Parang, Tumana and Fortune villages in Marikina. The deployment was approved by the Marikina city government, he said.

    Anytime this week, Visaya said they are deploying two squads each to Moriones and Smokey Mountain in Manila City, where he said the NPA is active.

    The military has now about 160 soldiers deployed in poor communities in Manila City, 30 soldiers in Taguig City and at least 100 soldiers in Quezon City.

    The government had said that some NPA activists in the capital region were found behind the foiled coup attempt against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in Feb. 2006. The military is currently trying to crack down on the NPA militants all across the country, especially in the rural provinces.