Organizer: Lynn Kwiatkowski, University of Southern Alabama
Chair: Vina Lanzona, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Discussant: Vincent Boudreau, City College of New York
In the half century since its founding, the Philippine republic has been challenged by three major insurgencies: the Communist-led Huk rebellion of the 1950s in Luzon, the Muslim separatist insurgency in Mindanao begun in the 1970s, and a second Communist-led insurgency fought by the New People’s Army, which spread throughout the nation in the 1970s and 80s. The armed social movements that promoted these insurgencies mobilized populations, challenged the state with varying success, and reshaped regional societies in ways mostly unintended. Rather than a top-down, leadership-centered view of these insurgencies, the panel explores their dynamics "on the ground," at the level at which people interact. The central argument is that the armed movements were shaped to a large extent by the ways in which movement activists in thousands of rural and urban communities sought to negotiate support, gain allies, accommodate adversaries, undermine enemies, and convince themselves and others that their (shifting) goals were worth dying for. Hence a regional approach: how the insurgencies were "acted out" and affected people and society differed by region, depending on the specific interplay between movement activists and local societies and cultures within (inter)national contexts. This panel looks at the dynamics of two revolutionary movements, one past, one still in existence—the PKP/Huk and the NPA—on the main Philippine island of Luzon. It examines, in particular, how regional embeddedness influenced relationships and culture among activists, and how the (problematic) interaction between lowland activists and highlander populations affected movement success.
The Lavas: Up Close and Personal
Jose Y. Dalisay Jr., University of the Philippines
For over three decades, from the late 1930s to the early 1970s, the Lavas of Bulacan were a major force in the Philippine Left, with three of the Lava brothers serving as general secretaries of the Communist Party. This essay, which is based on the new biography of the Lava brothers (The Lavas: A Filipino Family, Pasig City: Anvil Books, 1999) locates the brothers within the Old Left’s most glorious and then most troubled years, and concludes that: (1) Much more so than the post-1968 Left, the Old Left was greatly dependent on interpersonal relationships—on family, community and friends—to protect and advance its interests; (2) While book learning was part of the Party’s instruction, theory was less important than practice in a cadre’s development; and (3) While taking a backseat to the men in political work, the Lava women were among their strongest resources, providing constant support.
Artifacts and Afterthoughts of American Colonial Policy: "Igorotism," Rebellion, and Regional Autonomy in the Cordillera
Gerard Finin, East-West Center
The idea of the Cordillera as a region inhabited by one Igorot people is deeply rooted in American colonial policy. Embracing this perception, the CPP/NPA in the early 1970s initiated efforts to establish a strong regional base of support among Cordillera highlanders. Limited early success based on collaboration with established politicians was followed by setbacks that highlighted the difficulties associated with gaining grassroots support for the movement’s ideology. Subsequent success with village-level organizing was based on collective resistance to Marcos-inspired development schemes. This paper explores the myriad challenges that confronted the CPP/NPA in mobilizing support, including highlander/lowlander ethnic divides, misunderstandings of non-Hispanized social structures, and problems of "indigenous" leadership. Particular attention is given to the analysis of linkages between Manila and the Cordillera, fissures within the CPP/NPA organizational structure, and the emergence of the Cordillera regional autonomy movement. It is argued that the CPP/NPA’s inability to adapt to local conditions and appreciate non-Hispanized highland cultures contributed to a general weakening of support over the past decade within the Cordillera.
Fear and Empathy in Low Intensity Conflict: Ambivalent and Shifting Views of NPA Soldiers Among Ifugao People
Lynn Kwiatkowski, University of South Alabama
The New People’s Army (NPA) of the Philippines has been waging a revolutionary war against the Philippine government since 1969 throughout the Philippine islands. Much has been written about the political dimensions of this low intensity conflict (LIC), and the ideologies and histories of the NPA and Philippine military. This paper, instead, seeks to interpret the "subjective, experiential, meaningful, or ‘cultural’ dimension" of the conflict (Sluka, 1992), through an analysis of how a number of Ifugao people of Northern Luzon had experienced and perceived their interactions with and awareness of NPA soldiers within Ifugao communities during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Many poor Ifugao people held multiple, highly ambivalent and shifting understandings of and feelings toward NPA soldiers and the LIC. These shifting views were based in part on their personal experiences with both NPA and government military soldiers within their communities, as well as their fear of the soldiers’ power and uncontrolled violence. Their views were also shaped by the Ifugao cultural values of reciprocity, respect, and empathy with the poor. While a number of Ifugao people supported the political goals of the NPA, while others opposed them, for many poor Ifugao people the political issues of social class inequality, nationalism, or ethnic nationalism (or autonomy) were not the primary factors influencing their views of NPA soldiers. Instead, cultural ideologies, social interaction with soldiers, and fear of violence led to their shifting views and understandings of NPA soldiers and the continuing LIC.
From Daughters, Sisters, and Wives to Comrades and Revolutionaries: The Changing Identities of Women in the Huk Rebellion
Vina Lanzona, University of Wisconsin, Madison
During the 1930s, while elite and middle-class women in Manila took advantage of increased educational and employment opportunities, peasant women in Central Luzon still concentrated on the subsistence of their households. The onset of World War II and the Communist-led Huk rebellion propelled these generally inactive women to action, thereby changing their identities from daughters, sisters, and wives of Huk men to their comrades and fellow revolutionaries. Based on interviews with several Huk women, this paper examines the mobilization and experiences of peasant women who became committed members, leaders, and commanders in the Huk organization. Although they assumed new identities, Huk women remained subordinate to men in the movement, performing tasks such as cooking, washing clothes, sewing and housekeeping. Most of the women were also relegated to subsidiary roles in various support committees, including propaganda, medical, secretarial and communication. Despite its egalitarian ideology, the male-dominated Huk movement was undercut by its own patriarchal assumptions about appropriate gender roles and sexuality. In the end, the failure of the Huks and the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas was not only due to successful government counterinsurgency operations. The movement also collapsed because of inherent flaws: it diminished the potential contribution of women and failed to address the needs and deep-seated aspirations of all its followers, both male and female.