The Hukbalahap

Motivation of the the Hukbalahaps (Huks)

Crisanto Evangelista
The name Hukbalahap, translates to "the people's army against the Japanese". The group was founded as a political interest group for the communist party, but it will play an important role in Philippines' resistance against the Imperial Japanese force.
The founders and party members of both the Socialist and Philippine Communist Party throughout the 1930s, prior to the Japanese occupation, served as active nationalists and revolutionaries who sought an independent communist Philippine state.  The leader of the Philippines first official communist organization, the Worker’s Party, was Crisanto Evangelista.
It wouldn’t be until after the Japanese capture and executions of Evangelista and his head deputy, Abad  Santos, that Evangelista’s communist and socialist guerrillas would come to call themselves officially the Hukbalahap in 1942. Evangelista’s political goals included creating a financially independent Philippines free from American governance and capitalism, while most importantly, liberating the Filipino peasant and working classes.

The Makeup of Hukbalahap

As one would imagine from a typical communist party, the main participants of Hukbalahap were peasants, since Evangelista's political ideology was to liberate the peasantry and farming families, which struck a personal chord with the peasants. 
The Huks' main center of communication was on the island of Luzon in the swamp and dense jungle regions near Mount Arayat. In the beginning of the war, the Huks were very low on resources in regards to men, trained soldiers, weaponry, foodstuffs, and basic necessities like clothing. Due to the lack of resources, Evangelista came up with a strategy to do quick surprise attacks on the Imperial Japanese soldiers since the Huks were local and knew the jungles well. 

Collaboration with Allied Forces

Luis Taruc
By December 10, 1941, the Huks finally agreed to officially align themselves with the Allied forces and the Philippines' Commonwealth headed by Quezon. Evangelista’s forces were successful not only in their raids across Luzon’s northern landscape but also were able to provide the underground resistance with the much needed ammunitions and promote a  successful image of Filipino resistance to the Japanese forces winning the support of some Filipino communities of Luzon. Evangelista and his guerrillas’ successful raids helped to prompt more Filipino civilians and peasant farmers to join the guerrilla movement throughout the war.      
​With the Japanese execution of Evangelista in 1942, guerilla socialist leader Luis Taruc became the Huk Commander. Under his leadership, the Hukbalahaps would continue to compete, absorb, fight, or collaborate with other American and Filipino guerrillas.  But for a number of their missions where the Huks would collaborate with Allied forces, such as the liberation of the POW and civilian camps throughout Luzon (i.e. the Raid of Cabanatuan and the Raid of Los Banos), Huk units would offer their soldiers as reserves to the U.S. 11th Airborne Division.

Hukbalahaps Images

A Hukbalahap guerrilla fighter in Manila uses a fire hydrant as a make-shift tripod while firing at the Japanese.
Luis Taruc (Left) shaking hands with President Quirino (Right). 21 June 1948.

Related Book

Philippines' Resistance:
​The Last Allied Stronghold in the Pacific

​The people of the Philippine Islands during the early half of the 20th century experienced various waves of Western imperialism, two wars of attempted secession from Western powers, and two world wars. And yet the Philippine Islands and its people have received only small subheadings in many American textbooks and histories. 
The wartime experiences from the perspectives of the Philippine people have gone unnoticed and have become overshadowed by the sociopolitical dominating legacy of American figures like General MacArthur, leader and historical symbol of the Pacific Theater during World War II. MacArthur's famous phrase "I came through and shall return" is etched into every facet of World War II historical narratives, textbooks, and monuments that pay tribute to the Allied forces in the retaking of the Pacific from the Japanese. But It is the lesser known people and leaders of the Philippine resistance against the Axis powers whose efforts and contributions allowed for the effective and speedy return of MacArthur's military forces. 
The Philippine guerrilla resistance consisted of a diverse cast of Filipino men and women, ethnic and indigenous minorities, American and European immigrants and soldiers, young and old, rich and poor, from farmer to politician. The various units of Philippine guerrillas, their tactics, military resources, and vigor to survive and end the Japanese maltreatment of the Philippine peoples paint the Pacific Theater from 1941-1945 as desperate, dark, and bloody for Asian communities throughout East and Southeast Asia. But their resourcefulness, cooperative efforts to collaborate and network with MacArthur across the South Pacific, and massive grassroots liberation movement directly point to the remarkable value that the Philippine Underground Resistance proved to be in aiding the Allies' ability to retake the Pacific.