One Line Teaser: In this group interview, Victoria Donato Paladan,

Juliana Dionisio Paladan-Cusilit, Rufina Gabriel Paladan-Cusilit discuss
the Huk Rebellion which occurred in their childhood in the 1940s and
1950s.
 
The various interviewees, born between 1935 to 1955 begin by
discussing their experiences during the Japanese Occupation. Civilians
hid in foxholes or even under the abdomen of their buffaloes during
Japanese air raids. They also briefly discuss the pro-Japanese group,
Makapili, characterizing them as rapists who abducted women. All
interviewees concur that they were afraid of the Imperial Japanese
Army during WWII.
 
Comparing them to the Huks, the interviewees generally consider the
Huks as a lesser threat than the Japanese. They also highlight that there
was significant diversity in the personalities of Huk rebels. While they
largely feel that the Huks and their movement was unwelcome, they also
acknowledge that there were both kind and cruel individuals in the
organization. As fellow Filipinos, the Huks did not steal from families
they knew personally, unlike the Japanese. In contrast, they do not
express a strong opinion about the government soldiers, but note that
similarly, there were soldiers who were kind and others who were
feared. However, they do recall an anecdote of government troops fatally
shooting a civilian woman by accident.
 
The respondents also had different relationships and connections to the
Hukbalahap movement. They discuss various such individuals from their
personal networks; with Juliana having a stepfather who was a Huk,
while another respondent had brothers in the Temporary Police, which
arrested rebels. Her brothers unit arrested prominent Huk commander,
Luis Taruc. Another whose father served as a lookout for the Huks was
later arrested and imprisoned when he provided a false confession
admitting to his boss’ crimes of illegal gambling.
 
Despite their personal connections to real and suspected Huk members,
none of the interviewees are able to explain the movement’s objectives.

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 They surmise that is possible that the Huks might have been
communists, but suggest that they might have been opposing the
corruption in the Philippine government at the time.
 
 
Tags: Philippines; 1941-1957?; Communism; Civil-Military relations;
Anti-communist Repression; Huk Rebellion;
 
 
Notes
1 The interviewees have confused the Huks, who were anti-Japanese
during WWII, with the pro-Japanese Makapili which supported the
Imperial Japanese Army.
 
2 The explanation given by Tina’s niece, that the Huks were following
the objectives of the New People’s Army is a misconception. The New
People’s Army was founded in 1969 as a successor movement to the
Hukbalahap, and included some former Huks.
 
3 Jueteng is a traditional Filipino gambling game which was popular by
the 1950s.
 
Discussion Questions
1) In light of this testimony, to what extent is the Huk Rebellion better
characterized as a domestic conflict than as a part of the global Cold
War?
 
2) Consider the role of personal networks in shaping the lived
experiences of Filipinos during the Huk Rebellion during the early Cold
War years. How does that enhance our understanding of the Philippines’
Cold War?

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