Communist Insurgency in the Philippines (catch all)
Hi:
A case can be made that macArthur's refusal to recognize the contribution of the Huks to the anti-Japanese resistance in World War 2 contributed greatly to the start of the rebellion. Or at least to the tensions leading to it.
The old Communist Party's original agenda was to engage in parliamentary struggle after World War 2. And most of the Huk leaders were peasant socialists, not Communists.
The latter were mostly Manila intellectuals and professionals.
As for the 1972 to late 1970s MNLF rebellion? Somebody still has to write a book on Marcos' Machivellian tactics to beat them.
Clever rogue that Marcos. No wonder he fooled a lot of people then. This included a lot of American policymakers.
As for the NPAs? Jose Ma. Sison is a very interesting fella.
Cheers.
the situation between 1946 and 1950
Hi:
From 1946 to 1950, the PKP was still trying to broker a modus vivendi with the national government.
It was only in 1950 when the PKP politburo decided to call for a revolution which would put them in Malacanang, the presidential palace within two years.
The skirmishes were localized incidents, but they were several. President Quirino called in the Philippine Army, because the incidents were already too many. Besides, the Philippine Constabulary had the bad habit of cozying up with local power brokers.
Let it be pointed out that the PC was basically a police force with M1 Garands and a few 30 caliber machine guns.
Meanwhile, it seems you are citing Philippine literature of the Cold War. This must be now be taken with some skepticism and a more sober examination of the facts.
Quirino had been demonized, but it turns out he was a very capable leader even if aristocratic.
Magsaysay will always be revered. However, historical evidence shows that had he not died in a plane crash in 1957, his shortcomings as an administrator while President would have finally been coming home to roost.
regarding the Huk rebellion
Hi:
The fact that the Huks registered themselves at risk of being subject to being killed by guns for hire of the landlords shows there was no central decision to launch a revolt before 1950.
The PKP also openly supported the Nacionalista Party in the 1949 elections. Taruc, the Huk Supremo, had enough time to plead their case such as the Manila Rotary Club is further proof.
Also, none of the PKP members, the politburo out in Manila had still gone underground.
The murder -ambush of the late President Quezon's widow was done by new Huk recruits.
The Huk clashes were traditionall village vendettas. Both the civilian guards and the Huks claimed to be acting in self-defense.
AS FOR Quirino? There were other problems than the Huk rebellion. The Philippines was devasted by World War 2. In fact, only Warsaw could beat manila's destruction. Yet, Quirino was able to make the government function in spite this.
To say that Quirino could stop graft and corruption is to betray your shallow knowledge of Philippine culture and history. No offense meant when I say this.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is a capable President. But she is being sunk right now by her husband, who allegedly is engaged in influence peddling left and right.
Magsaysay BTW also had a number of crooks in his adnimistration. Sadly, a number of these were allegedly also military men he had brought into his watch.
Incidentally, the clashes between the civilian guards and the PC were what led to the rebellion.The landlords were demanding back rentals for the war years when they had fled their townhouses and sought refuge in Manila.
The decision to launch the rebellion took place in 1950 shortly after the Korean War's start. The PKP'S theoreticians mistakenly thought a new world war would start and so would a new economic depression.
Hence, their analysis of a revolutionary situation obtaining in the Philippines.
Cheers and Happy Weekend.
regarding the huk rebellion
charter 6:
You do not get the logic of my point.
When the Huks registered, the assumption was that they were a legal organization. They gave out their names, addresses, and names of immeidate relatives.
In other words, they were giving out to their potential killers all the vital information needed for the job.
The fact that the Huks started going out to Arayat and that they were re-organizing was in reaction to the intensified clashes. They were doing so for self-defense.
As for Quirino, he became President in April 1948. At that time the Philippine treasury was empty. Salaries for government employees and worse the military were not paid on time.
War brutalized the Philippines and the Filipinos. Guns were everywhere. It was also easy to make a quick buck. Much of it by outright stealing and graft.
It is to Quirino's credit that he got the government to function somehow. He also negotiated for US aid. The import controls he put up, a necessary stopgap then, had the unintended consequence of spurring the import substitition policy--which gave short run economic benefits up until the start of the term of President Diosdado Macapagal's father.
Again, the Huks were but one of the numerous problems a post-war and newly-independent Philippines faced. There were several others.
As for the Huk commander who killed Aurora Quezon, he was a renegade leader. The province of Quezon was a marginal base for the Huks. Its strength was basically Pampanga and parts of Bulacan in Central Luzon and parts of Laguna.
It seems you are unfamiliar with Philippine culture and that is why you assume the Huks were as highly disciplined and organized as the Viet Minh.
No, Filipinos are not that way. And that is why Filipinos will never tolerate a Communist-led regime. Too much discipline which goes against the Filipino penchant for inspired improvisation and a more creative approach to problems.
If you are citing US military texts, they are then sadly outdated. Which is dangerous. Because if you will be citing lessons learned from these texts to craft strategies for another COIN campaign elsewhere, you shall be coming to grief.
Again, the top leaders of the Communist underground were out in the open. The incoherent reaction of the Huks to the 1946 to 1950 clashes shows there was no overriding strategic goal.
That goal happened when the decision to launch a revolution in 1950 finally took place. "See you in Malacanang," then became the greeting Huks gave to each other.
And the series of attacks against government units finally began.
Addendum:
Wait, you're saying that the hired guards of the landowners and the PC fighting led to the war? Where do the Huks fit into that equation? I just don't think that's true.
This is a copyediting issue, not an issue of fact.I committed an error most Filipino English writers are prone to.
What I meant was that Huks were clashing with either the PC, civilian guards, or municipal policemen. The last were under the control of mayors.
Center for Military History- Hukbalahap Insurrection
Gentlemen,
You may enjoy this from the CMH-
The Hukbalahap Insurrection
A few comments for Kenyatta
Hi Kenyatta:
Nice to see your posts. I respect your views and intelligence.
Nevertheless, I will have to disagree with you that the best form of government for the Philippines today would be similar to Singapore's or the ROK's.
Such a government may work for this country for two or three years. But with media and civil liberties oppressed, many close relatives and cronies of whoever shall be in the Presidential Palace in Malacanang would begin considerig themselves master franchisees of the privilege to plunder the Philippines dry.
This in turn would fuel insurgency and political unrest.
A better alternative would be that similar to Fidel Ramos' presidency.
As for Jose Ma. Sison? He was in detention from 1977 to February 1986.
His influence with the CPP at that time was merely that of a symbol.
The leadership that followed him mostly discarded his precepts in practice even if they paid lip service to them. When they tried applying what he had preached, many times they came to grief.
Cheers.
The Communist Insurgency in the Philippines: Tactics and Talks
ICG, 14 Feb 11: The Communist Insurgency in the Philippines: Tactics and Talks
Quote:
The Philippine government is unable to control and develop large parts of the country because of the longstanding communist insurgency. The conflict has lasted more than 40 years and killed tens of thousands of combatants and civilians. Planning their attacks and securing weapons and funds locally, the insurgents have strong roots in the different regions where they operate and have proved hard to defeat. The government’s counter-insurgency strategy has diminished their numbers but has not been able to destroy the organisation. Neither side will win militarily. As peace negotiations resume under the Benigno Aquino administration, the parties to the talks should immediately commit to making existing human rights monitoring mechanisms work, while they try to reach the more difficult long-term goal of a durable political settlement.....
Divided to comply with the 10k character rule...
It seems I am verbose today. Nothing very unusual.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Rachamim
For example,Col.Lademora,whom I just mentioned?He settled in Caraga because he was employed to"acquire"land for the Guthrie Palm Oil plantation in Agusan del Sur Province.Entire vilages were burned out but by and large these were isolated events.
He had interesting ways of "acquiring" land... learned, not coincidentally, in Cotabato. I lived in Agusan Sur from 79 to 81, and at that time the NPA presence was minimal. NGPI was the lever the NPA needed to break into the area; the people displaced by that project were their initial targets for organizing. I went back in 82 and it was a whole new ball game, an amazingly rapid change.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Rachamim
On the term"Caraga."You wouldn't have heard it because in those years the Regional Administrative System hadn't been created.Caraga Region (Region XIII) was created in 1995.The term historically can be found in the 18th Century annals of the Jesuits who tried prostelysing.It is usually spelled"Karaga."It was a Spanish bastardisation of the word"Kalaga,"or"Kalagan" (both were used interchangably).The Kalagan were a Bisaya Tribe indigenous to the area.The reason the name is used in Davao Oriental Province"us because a band of Kalagan had settled there.The first concrete history of the Kalagan was recorded by the Spaniard. Francisco de Castro in 1538.Ironically,at that time there were no Muslims at all on Mainland Mindanao and the Maguindanowan and Maranaw (Maranao) hadn't even entered existence (both are merely Islamicise[d offshoots of the Iranun Tribe).So you see,there is an incredible amount of propaganda and manipulation taking place even within the Philippines.
Yes, and as I said above, the distortions take place on both sides.
The term "Caraga" is a historical relic of rather dubious origin - as said above, Spanish records are far from reliable - long expired, revived for political reasons.
Not quite correct to say there were no Muslims on mainland Mindanao in 1538... Kabungsawan's arrival is generally dated to 1511. Really pretty irrelevant, though. In 1500 there were neither Muslims nor Christians, just a scattering of tribes, with numerous relationships among them. Some were Christianized, others were Islamicized. Others remained unconverted, and were called Lumad. The friction among them didn't reach the level of large-scale violence until sponsored migration drastically altered the demographic pattern and the balance of power.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Rachamim
I just saw you mentioned Col.Lademora,guess I should read your post in its entirety before composing a response hahaha.He was never involved in any drive for autonomy or independence and in fact isn't even a Cebuano.He's an Ilonggo who settled in San Franz (Agusan del Sur) because of his relationship with Conjuangco,and also because Marcos urged him to.The UN wanted him tried for War Crimes and Marcos had enough headaches.At the time there were no phones in the interior,only a gravel track where National Hiway now sits so that the isolation was a factor.
The Maneros,though I don't know them personally (actually Col.Lademora was their handler for awhile so maybe in a 6th Degree of Separation type way I can say I know him) also never bothered with autonomy or independence.
I remember those days well. In 1979 San Fran was a one-street town with a really striking resemblance to a set for a Western movie. Swap stagecoaches for battered jeeps, horses for 125cc Honda dirt bikes, winchesters for M16s, and you'd have it. Disorder on a similar scale as well... landgrapping, claim-jumping miners, corrupt politicians and hired gunmen, the works, despite a severe lack of strong silent heroes riding over the horizon to liberate the little guys, though the NPA tried to fill that role!
Way too many stories to tell, including one or two involving Lademora and his guys... shouldn't get started though.
I didn't mean to suggest that Lademora or the Maneros had an independence agenda, only to cite them as examples of the kind of essentially personalistic leaders/groups with a nominal political agenda that features so prominently in Mindanao micropolitics.
Is Lademora still alive? He must be well up in years by now. He was no spring chicken when I met him, and that was... 82 or 83, I guess.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Rachamim
Luce was another one who was almost entirely apolitical.He simply wanted to be able to live without people trying to steal his land.Those people happened to be Muslims so it wasn't even ethnically driven,at least in the beginning.
One might wonder how a guy from Panay (I know some say he was Tiruray, some say lots of stuff) managed to acquire land in Cotabato in the first place. Back to acronyms, you do of course know what ILAGA was taken to mean in those days...
Why the "peace talks" won't produce peace...
http://af.reuters.com/article/worldN...7820JA20110903
Quote:
Maoists want Manila to free more rebels before talks resume
MANILA (Reuters) - Maoist rebels Saturday demanded the release of at least five more detained guerrilla leaders before peace negotiations could resume with the Philippines government, the chief negotiator of the communist-led National Democratic Front said.
Luis Jalandoni, a former Roman Catholic priest, said his group had also offered a truce and power-sharing deal with the government of President Benigno Aquino, opening a second track of negotiations to speed up the slow and tedious peace process.
"It's a bold and innovative proposal," Jalandoni said, adding his group sent a confidential letter to Aquino on January 18, proposing an alliance and truce with government.
He said the proposed political deal envisions social and economic reforms and nationalising industries, including mining and oil-and-gas projects.
Always amusing when people with no power offer a "power-sharing deal". I don't know what Jalandoni is smoking in that peace pipe, but I suspect it's fragrant...
What now for the Philippines' Communist insurgency?
A short commentary that seeks to:
Quote:
Given the recent rise in violence, it seems pertinent to make a realistic assessment of the ongoing Communist violence – considered the longest-running Communist insurgency in Asia – its impact on the larger socioeconomic and political fabric of the country, the direction of the movement since its inception, and future prospects.
Link:http://www.opendemocracy.net/opensec...ist-insurgency
The Leadership Crisis in the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army