When Filipino Folklore Was Used Against Communist Insurgents
Early in World War II’s clash between Japan and the United States, the Japanese went on a whirlwind of conquests across the Pacific. In 1942, they invaded, overran, and expelled the US from the Philippines. That was followed by a brutal occupation that triggered widespread resistance. One of the more active resistance groups was the Hukbalahap (a Filipino acronym for “The Nation’s Army Against Japan”). Commonly known as the “Huks”, they were a socialist/ communist guerrilla movement of central Luzon farmers.
After Japan’s defeat, the Huks were not eager for the Philippines to revert to an American colonial possession. Nor did they want to return to life under a landed wealthy native elite who exploited the farmers. So they kept up their insurgency, both against the Americans when they returned, and against the Filipino government after independence in 1946. To support the Philippines’ US-friendly government, the CIA helped with counter-insurgency efforts. It exploited local folklore with a psychological operation intended to demoralize the Huks with fake vampires.
