Hukbalahap The Hukbalahap ( , ) , or Hukbong Laban sa Hapon ( Anti - Japanese Army ) was an anti - Japanese guerilla movement formed by the peasant farmers of Central Luzon . They are popularly known simply as Huks . They staged a rebellion , known as the Hukbalahap Rebellion against the Philippine Government in 1946 . It was finally put down through a series of reforms and military victories by Filipino President Ramon Magsaysay . Name . As originally constituted in 1942 , the Hukbalahap was to be part of a broad united front resistance to the Japanese occupation of the Philippines . This original intent is reflected in its name : " " Hukbong Bayan Laban sa mga Hapon " " , which means " People ' s Army Against the Japanese . " By 1950 , the Communist Party of the Philippines PKP had resolved to reconstitute the organization as the armed wing of a revolutionary party , prompting a change in the official name to " Hukbong Mapalaya ng Bayan , " ( HMB ) or " Peoples ' Liberation Army , " likely in emulation of the Chinese People ' s Liberation Army . Notwithstanding this name change , the HMB continued to be popularly known as the " Hukbalahap , " and the English - speaking press continued to refer to it and its members , interchangeably , as " The Huks " during the whole period between 1945 and 1952 . History . The Hukbalahap movement has deep roots in the Spanish " encomienda " , a system of grants to reward soldiers who had conquered New Spain , established about 1570 . This developed into a system of exploitation . In the 19th century , Filipino landlordism , under the Spanish colonization , arose and , with it , further abuses . Only after the coming of the Americans were reforms initiated to lessen tensions between tenants and landlords . The reforms , however , did not solve the problems and , with growing political consciousness produced by education , peasants began to unite under educated but poor leaders . The most potent of these organizations was the Hukbalahap , which began as a resistance organization against the Japanese but ended as an anti - government resistance movement . World War II . After the Japanese invasion , peasant leaders met on March 29 , 1942 in a forest clearing located in Sitio Bawit , Barrio San Julian , Cabiao , Nueva Ecija , at the junction of Tarlac , Pampanga , and Nueva Ecija provinces to form a united organization . " " Hukbong Bayan Laban sa mga Hapon " " was chosen as the name of the organization . After the meeting , a military committee was formed with Luis Taruc ( chairman ) , Castro Alejandrino ( 2nd in command ) , Bernardo Poblete ( " Banal " ) , and Felepa Culala ( " Dayang - Dayang " – an amazon whose unit had killed several Japanese soldiers ) as members . The strength of the Huk organization came from the mostly agrarian peasants of Central Luzon . Between March 1942 and August 1948 , the Huks became a trained and experienced force , well - equipped and well - prepared for its guerrilla warfare . The initial force of 500 armed Huks which was organized into five squadrons had increased to a fully armed guerrilla force of 20 , 000 men . The group ' s leaders , among them figurehead Luis Taruc , communist party Secretary General Jesus Lava , and Commander Hizon ( Benjamin Cunanan ) , aimed to lead the Philippines toward Marxist ideals and communist revolution . The Hukbalahap Insurrection ( 1946 – 1954 ) was their attempt to take over the Philippines . The Hukhbalahap ' s methods were often portrayed by other guerrilla leaders as terrorist ; for example , Ray C . Hunt , an American who led his own band of 3000 guerrillas , said of the Hukbalahap that My experiences with the Huks were always unpleasant . Those I knew were much better assassins than soldiers . Tightly disciplined and led by fanatics , they murdered some Filipino landlords and drove others off to the comparative safety of Manila . They were not above plundering and torturing ordinary Filipinos , and they were treacherous enemies of all other guerrillas ( on Luzon ) . However , the Hukbalahap claimed that it extended its guerrilla warfare campaign for over a decade merely in search of recognition as World War II freedom fighters and former American and Filipino allies who deserved a share of war reparations . After its inception , the group grew quickly and by late summer 1943 claimed to have 15 , 000 to 20 , 000 active men and women military fighters and 50 , 000 more in reserve . These fighters ' weaponry was obtained primarily by stealing it from battlefields and downed planes left behind by the Japanese , Filipinos and Americans . They fought Japanese troops to rid the country of its imperialist occupation , worked to subvert the Japanese tax - collection service , intercepted food and supplies to the Japanese troops , and created a training school where they taught political theory and military tactics based on Marxist ideas . In areas that the group controlled , they set up local governments and instituted land reforms , dividing up the largest estates equally among the peasants and often killing the landlords . When it became evident that Manuel Roxas , whom the Huks accused of having been a collaborator , would run for the presidency the Huks allied themselves with the Democratic Alliance , a new political party , and threw their support behind President Sergio Osmeña . When Roxas won the Presidency , he instituted a campaign against the Huks . The Huks , however , succeeded in electing Taruc and other members of the Democratic Alliance to Congress . After Taruc was unseated by the Liberal Party , the Huks retreated to the jungle and began their open rebellion . Between 1946 and 1949 the indiscriminate counterinsurgency measures by President Roxas ( " mailed fist " policies ) strengthened Huk appeal . The Philippine Army , Philippine Constabulary , and civilian guards attacked villages seeking out subversives . . Insurrection . In 1949 , Hukbalahap members ambushed and murdered Aurora Quezon , Chairman of the Philippine Red Cross and widow of the Philippines ' second president , Manuel L . Quezon , as she was en route to her hometown for the dedication of the Quezon Memorial Hospital . Several others were also killed , including her eldest daughter and son - in - law . This attack brought worldwide condemnation of the Hukbalahaps , who claimed that the attack was done by " renegade " members . The continuing condemnation and new post - war causes of the movement prompted the Huk leaders to adopt a new name , the ' Hukbong Mapagpalaya ng Bayan ' or the ' People ' s Liberation Army ' in 1950 . Public sympathies for the movement had been waning due to their postwar attacks . The Huks carried out a campaign of raids , holdups , robbery , ambushes , murder , rape , massacre of small villages , kidnapping and intimidation . The Huks confiscated funds and property to sustain their movement and relied on small village organizers for political and material support . The Huk movement was mainly spread in the central provinces of Nueva Ecija , Pampanga , Tarlac , Bulacan , and in Nueva Vizcaya , Pangasinan , Laguna , Bataan and Quezon . An important movement in the campaign against the Huks was the deployment of hunter - killer counter guerilla special units . The " Nenita " unit ( 1946 – 1949 ) was the first of such special forces whose main mission was to eliminate the Huks . The Nenita Force was commanded by Major Napoleon Valeriano . The Nenita terror tactics which were not only committed against dissidents but also towards law - abiding people sometimes helped the Huks gain supporters as a consequence . In July 1950 , Major Valeriano assumed command of the elite 7th Battalion Combat Team ( BCT ) in Bulacan . The 7th BCT would develop a reputation toward employing a more comprehensive , more unconventional counterinsurgency strategy and reduced the random brutality against the civilian population . In June 1950 , American alarm over the Huk rebellion during the cold war prompted President Truman to approve special military assistance that included military advice , sale at cost of military equipment to the Philippines and financial aid under the Joint United States Military Advisory Group ( JUSMAG ) . In September 1950 , former USAFFE guerilla , Ramon Magsaysay was appointed as Minister of National Defense on American advice . With the Huk Rebellion growing in strength and the security situation in the Philippines becoming seriously threatened , Magsaysay urged President Elpidio Quirino to suspend the writ of habeas corpus for the duration of the Huk campaign . American assistance allowed Magsaysay to create more BCTs , bringing the total to twenty - six . By 1951 , army strength had increased by 60 percent over the previous year with 1 , 047 - man BCTs . Major military offensive campaigns against the Huks were carried out by the 7th , 16th , 17th , and 22nd BCTs . Another major effort against the Huks was Operation " Knockout " of the Panay Task Force ( composed of the 15th BCT , some elements of the 9th BCT and the Philippine Constabulary commands of Iloilo , Capiz and Antique ) under the command of Colonel Alfredo M . Santos . The Operation conducted a surprise attack on Guillermo Capadocia , commander of the Huk Regional Command in the Visayas , erstwhile Secretary General and one of the founders of the PKP . Santos ' masterstroke was the enlistment of Pedro Valentin , a local mountain leader who knew the people and the terrain like the back of his hand . Capadocia died of battle wounds on September 20 , 1952 . In 1954 , Lt . Col . Laureño Maraña , the former head of Force X of the 16th PC Company , assumed command of the 7th BCT , which had become one of the most mobile striking forces of the Philippine ground forces against the Huks , from Valeriano who was now a colonel . Force X employed psychological warfare through combat intelligence and infiltration that relied on secrecy in planning , training , and execution of attack . The lessons learned from Force X and Nenita were combined in the 7th BCT . With the all out anti - dissidence campaigns against the Huks , they numbered less than 2 , 000 by 1954 and without the protection and support of local supporters , active Huk resistance no longer presented a serious threat to Philippine security . From February to mid - September 1954 , the largest anti - Huk operation , " Operation Thunder - Lightning " was conducted and resulted in the surrender of Luis Taruc on May 17 . Further clean up operations of guerillas remaining lasted throughout 1955 , diminishing its number to less than 1 , 000 by year ' s end . The " Hukbong Mapagpalaya ng Bayan " was again resurrected as " Bagong Hukbong Mapagpalaya ng Bayan " during the early 1960s , but the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas shifted from the use of armed struggle to parliamentary struggle . Guerrilla warfare against the government continued until its surrender along with the Party during Martial Law . The Agreement between the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas and the government lead to the recognition of the Huk Veterans with a share of war reparations and benefits . After the Sino - Soviet split , the Maoists in the older pro - USSR PKP left in 1968 to form the new Communist Party of the Philippines ( CPP ) . In 1969 , the splinter CPP formed the New People ' s Army , with its Tagalog name " Bagong Hukbong Bayan " with the faction involving members of the HMB under Bernabe " Dante " Buscayno , and launched a " protracted people ' s war " that lasts to this day . In 1972 , President Ferdinand Marcos cited this armed resistance movement as the reason for his imposition of martial law .