Chapter 18: Elpidio Quirino Era 1948-1953 - Chris Pforr Homepage

War against the Huks
The Hukbalahap guerrillas, who had fought the Japanese during World War II,
were mostly illiterate, landless farmers who just wanted their own plots of land.
But the counterinsurgency campaign devised by Lansdale and Magsaysay portrayed
them as dangerous Communists directed by the evil Russians.
There were several parts of the new counterinsurgency strategy:
Chap 18, pg 4
In 1950 Colonel Lansdale arrived in the Philippines to work with the new
Defense Minister, Ramon Magsaysay, to create a military counter-insurgency
operation against the Huks. The two worked closely, Lansdale providing the
innovative ideas and unconventional methods and Magsaysay issuing the
official orders.
1. Conventional military operations
The Philippine Constabulary was merged with the Armed Forces of the Philippines and
expanded, then given new guns, vehicles, and a small air force by the US. They aggressively
pursued the Huks and offered cash rewards to any soldier who killed a guerrilla.
2. Psychological Warfare
A new Civil Affairs Office (CAO) was set up to create anti-Huk propaganda. This was
Lansdale’s specialty, and he supervised the production and distribution of millions of
anti-Huk leaflets, the making of movies and books, organization of anti-communist
rallies in colleges and grade schools, hiring of spies to infiltrate the Huks, and waging
of a disinformation campaign by spreading lies about the Huk leadership.
3. Dirty tricks campaign
Of many new techniques used, one became famous: Lansdale decided to apply
some psyops (psychological operations) to displace Huk guerrillas who were
hiding out in a mountain region. First local intelligence agents planted stories in
the community about asuang (vampires) living in the hills. Then Constabulary
soldiers set up an ambush along a Huk trail. When a Huk patrol came by, the
troops let them pass, except for the last man, whom they grabbed. After killing
him, they made two small holes in his neck and then hung him upside down and
allowed all his blood to drain out. The body was left on the trail for the Huks to
find when they came back looking for him. The Huk unit vanished into thin air
the next day, leaving the mountain to the government troops.
A Great Success
The Anti-Huk campaign was one of the most successful anti-guerrilla wars in modern history. It pleased the
Philippine landholding elite who feared losing their big estates to the poor peasants. The U.S. was relieved
because survival of the Quirino Government assured the crucial military bases would stay in American hands.
The strategy became the model for future American counterinsurgency wars in Vietnam and Latin America.