*389. Training To Be Red: STALIN UNIVERSITY

RED ALERT. Barrio Sinipit in Cabiao, Nueva Ecija, lies under the shadow of Mount Arayat. The strategically-located barrio was the site of an informal training school for Red cadres known as Stalin University. ca. 1959.

 Communism was a new ideology that was embraced early by the peasantry in their fight against tenant oppression. But one did not just turn red in an instant, he had to be indoctrinated in the ways of the new movement—from its fundamental beliefs and principles to its concept of resistance and armed uprising. The training school for such purpose was set up in a place aptly named Barrio Sinipit, in Cabiao Nueva Ecjia—which, in Kapampangan means “ hemmed-in, suppressed, repressed”. The school was called Stalin University—named after the Moscow-based institution founded by Communist International on 21 April 1921.

 This Kapampangan-speaking barrio, portions of which lie in the Candaba Swamp, was the perfect place for such a training school—Barrio Sinipit had always been hard-pressed from all directions, regularly raided by marauders, it houses burned and women raped. The barrio’s position and background made Sinipit the choice site for secret meetings by members and leaders of the so-called “Pambansang Kaisahang Magbubukid sa Pilipinas” (National Organization of Peasants in the Philippines).

 It was in 1936 that the PKMP established a training school for future leaders of this movement that was founded for the cause of oppressed peasants. In later years, these products of Stalin University would identify themselves as Huk guerrillas who shifted their fight from enemy invaders during the War, to abusive landlords and hacenderos. Many would also take on leading roles in the Communist Party of the Philippines and identify themselves as guerrillas of the Huk movement.

Stalin University was not a permanent building; its site was moveable and changeable—it could be under the canopy of a huge tree one day, and a ramshackle hut the next. This was so, because the instructors were the subject of manhunt by government intelligent officers. They were culled from the outside, who had knowledge of the conditions and feelings of Sinipit peasants.

 One tenant-farmer recall that “they were glib-tongue, very convincing, and they spoke of brighter things for us”. They would come with mimeographed notes and pamphlets in different languages. And they would talk of holding reprisals against abusive landlords. The Philippine Government knew of this Stalin University and it would send soldiers to swoop down on the clandestine school. But the class would always be a step ahead, moving to secret refuges in Bulacan or towards hideaways in Arayat or the swamps of Candaba.

 The Magsaysay Era ushered in a new purposeful period—to restore common people’s confidence in the government. Magsaysay sparked the revival of nationalism, and promised rural reforms. He addressed not only the issue of dissidence in the back country but also the disaffection of peasants because of grievances that remained unredressed. He established the President’s Complaint and Action Committee to look into such matters, such as the festering problem of share-cropping. Huk Chief Luis Taruc even sent a feeler to Commissioner Manahan when he heard Magsaysay’s speech about rural reforms and was curious to learn more. In time, Taruc admitted that Magsaysay’s barrio program had made the Huk struggle aimless.

 Thus, Stalin University was abandoned as the Huks took their movement to the hills, leaving Barrio Sinipit in peace once more. By 1959, the barrio was back on its feet, a thriving community blessed with rich soil and hardworking people. No many remember that not so long ago, beneath the shadow of Mount Arayat, there was a Nueva Ecija barrio where once Red cadres trained, in a school without a campus, known by the name Stalin University.

*214. Rebel with a Cause: LUIS M. TARUC, Huk Supremo

AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. Huk Supremo Luis Taruc was a militant rebel leader who helped found the Huk movement in Central Luzon and became a leading fighter for peasant rights, agrarian and social reforms. His skirmishes with the government led to his imprisonment in the turbulent 50s.

A leading figure in the campaign for social justice, Luis Mangalus Taruc was born of peasant stock in San Luis on 21 June 1913. Just like his father before him ,he became a farmer. After high school in Tarlac, he enrolled at the University of Manila, but did not finish; he opted to become a tailor in San Miguel, Bulacan.

He was already deep into Marxism in 1935, forcing him to leave his haberdashery business to his wife so he could go full time with his pro-peasant advocacies. Influenced by Pedro Abad Santos of San Fernando, Taruc joined his Aguman ding Maldang Tala-pagobra (AMT, Union of Peasant Workers) and in 1938, the Partido Socialista. When the latter evolved into the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas, Taruc became an officer of rank.

During the 2nd World War, Taruc, together with Casto Alejandrino, Felipa Culala (Kumander Dayang-Dayang) and Bernardo Poblete (Kumander Banal of Minalin), founded the Hukbalahap movement (Hukbong Laban sa Mga Hapon) in a barrio of Concepcion, Tarlac on 29 March 1942. He was chosen to lead a 30,000-strong guerrilla group against the Japanese invaders, with order to harass and attack them at every opportunity.

When the Philippines was liberated, Taruc and his group refused to surrender, as they were not recognized by the U.S. Army as real guerilla fighters. In 1946, he ran for a seat in Congress, which he won together with 6 other Communists. Charged with terrorism, he was unseated, fled to the mountains and vowed to defy the American-supported Roxas government.

In 1948, Tarc agreed to surrendered to then Pres. Elpidio Quirino. In return, Quirino was promised to grant amnesty to all surrendering Huks and reinstate Taruc as congressman. Talks collapsed with the government accusing the Huks of violating the terms of agreement. Once more, Taruc hied off to the mountains and continued his siege.

It was only in 1954, during the term of Ramon Magsaysay, that Taruc gave himself up to Benigno Aquino Jr., then a young reporter of the Daily Mirror and a secret government emissary to the rebel leader. Taruc was brought to Manila and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. After being denied clemency by Pres. Diosdado Macapagal, he was pardoned by Pres. Ferdinand Marcos in September 1968. Finally released, Taruc continued to work for social and agrarian reforms.

Taruc’s written works include “Born of the People” (1953) and “He Who Rides the Tiger” (1967). He passed away on 4 May 2005, of heart attack at the St. Luke’s Hospital at age 91. Attempts by several Huk veteran associations to discredit him as a Hukbalahap founder have not diminished Luis Taruc’s stature among the working peasant class, remaining an icon, or even a folk hero-- in the campaign against social injustice in the trying, turbulent 50s.

*88.HUK ON FILMS: From Movement to the Movies

DANTE'S INFERNO. Film poster of Kumander Dante's (Bernabe Buscayno) biopic, portrayed by Phillip Salvador and filmed in 1988. Buscayno, founder of the New People's Army in 1969, was a former worker in the sugar plantations owned by the Cojuangcos. The film was directed by Ben Yalung.

The Philippine movie industry began in the early 1900s, and since then, the medium has become one of the more popular sources of entertainment for many generations of Filipinos. Early films about the Philippines were story-less, featuring scenics and events such as Fiesta de Quiapo and Panorama de Manila. Narrative films with patriotic themes like La Vida de Jose Rizal and Los Tres Martires became the vogue in the first 2 decades of the new century.

With the formalization of the studio system, the film emerged as an effective medium for storytelling, with themes that often mirrored the thoughts of the country. After World War II, the local film industry rose from the ashes quickly, with a motherlode of tales from the ruins of the war—the 1st postwar film was Manuel Conde’s Orasang Ginto (The Golden Clock) which pictured graphically the heroism and sufferings of the Filipino guerilla. The mood had shifted dramatically from innocent romance to the harsh realism of violence and criminality.

The end of the war also signaled the start of our independence, but the pervading euphoria quickly gave way to feelings of betrayal as corruption and the struggles of the social class all but erased the gains of our new independence. The Communist HUKBALAHAP (Hukbong Bayan Laban sa mga Hapon) movement had gained grounds and support—providing the film industry with more eye-opening stories to tell about the revolt of the masses. Agrarian unrest, peasants bound to the soil, the heroic lives of Huk kumanders—all these found expressions on the screen, providing the audience a real hard look into the movement and its causes, its often-bloody struggles and its larger-than-life rebel heroes.

A comprehensive list of Huk-inspired films:

BACKPAY. (1947) Plot: Post-war guerrillas, disappointed because of the non-payment of their benefits and failure of the government to implement agrarian reforms decide to join the Huk movement

MGA BUSABOS NG PALAD (1948, Slaves of Destiny). Cast: Leopoldo Salcedo, Gil de Leon, Plot: Guerrillas find themselves jobless and resort to stealing, begging and boxing.

LUPANG PANGAKO (1949, Promised Land). Cast: Leopoldo salcedo, Mila del Sol. Plot: Returning guerrillas find difficulties in adjusting to mainstream life and find unemployment.

CANDABA. (1950) Cast: Tessie Quintana, Teody Belarmino and Tony Santos. Directed by: Gregorio Fernandez. Plot: Agrarian conflict.

TIGANG NA LUPA (1950, Parched Land). Cast: Rogelio de la Rosa and Leila Moreno. Plot: Agrarian conflict.

HUK, SA BAGONG PAMUMUHAY (1953, Huks, A New Life). Cast: Jose Padilla Jr., and Celia Flor.

HUK. (1956) A U.S. made movie. Cast: George Montgomery, Mona Freeman. Plot: A plantation owner struggles to fend off native insurrectionists (the "Huks" of the title).

KUMANDER 13. (1956) Cast: Rogelio de la Rosa, Carmencita Abad.

KUMANDER ALIBASBAS. (1981) Cast: Joseph Estrada, Perla Bautista. Bipic of Cesario Manarang, Huk leader from Concepcion, Tarlac.

PEDRING TARUC. (1982) Cast: Joseph Estrada, Ronaldo Valdez. Biopic of Huk leader, Pedro Taruc. The showing of this movie was blocked by the Marcos regime, citing that no outlaw should be made into a hero for a film.

KUMANDER DANTE. (1988) Cast: Phillip Salvador. Plot: Biopic of Bernabe Buscayno, leader and founder of New People’s Army (NPA).

(*NOTE: Feature titles with asterisks represent other writings of the author that appeared in other publications and are not included in the original book, "Views from the Pampang & Other Scenes")