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Outside the village and beyond the church, Filipino soldiers patrol for Huks still hiding
in the recesses of a now useless mountains. Asian communists
had been defeated by Asians, and a victory was a victory of a native Asian leader
Philippine president Ramon Magsaysay as he talked from my camera I could
feel the strength and honesty of the man ... system
people that made them Huks and communists
so we established a 'laboratory' in camp Murphy
in the same manner that the doctor
puts out on his own laboratory to find out what 'germs'
are inside his patient in order to know
how to kill the disease. In this army laboratory
we question there hundreds of
surrendered and captured Huks or communist
especially from the breadbasket of this country, Central Luzon.
After three months we found out
that the 'germ' which drove this people into the
mountain and became communist are
food and shelter. They were mad with the government
and they feel they're at the end of the line
that there is no way out but to become communists
so we started to give the 'medicine' to kill this germ
the medicine is the farm of their own title
a farmhouse, carabao, plow
we made the settlement very attractive. Electric lights, running water
community life, school buildings, basketball courts because we
wanted to show the communists in the
mountain that those who surrendered are given land
that there is no more need
no more need to stay in the mountains
with the rats, snakes and malaria. That its worthwhile going down surrendering to
the government. Many surrendered
almost 9,500 of them
when I was Secretary of Defense.
Standing on the foot of Mt. Arayat in Central Luzon. This is the area known as the 'breadbasket'
of the Philippine Islands on that mountain even today
there are Huks - communist guerrillas but most of them have come down from the mountain
and rejoined the society of free men their
story is the success story in the fight against
communist aggression in Asia
The best success story in the Philippines is the one you get from the man behind a plow
Ignacio is once an educated
city man but then for eight years a tough communist
guerrilla, had such a story
Let's sit down here Mr. Jones we can talk here
Ignacio, few Americans have had the opportunity to talk with a Philippine
communist. What brought you down from Mt. Arayat?
Mr. Jones
the reason are all about us. For eight years I was a Huk guerilla
we had to move every night
food was scarce, we were often hungry
this is Edgardo
he was born out in those hills
there was no chance for him to play there. And this is my wife
Mina. We have been together for eight years
some good times, some
very bad times but she is a good wife. Lets go back to the beginning
what made you a Huk? When the Japanese came
I ran into the
Hills to fight against them as a guerilla
even then communists were among us gradually
we were converted. Until recently
things were very bad here
I don't know how to say this but what I mean is
we were afraid of the Army, for them
our government was crooked and corrupt
we just had no faith. So I became
a communist official
a political director among the Huk guerrillas
we had been
on several raids
many innocent civilians were killed I protested
very much this was not the People's
Liberation Army I had believe in it was then
that the communists band against me
I was ambushed this bulletwound
is what I got for eight years
of service to the Huks
but even before that I knew they were wrong
One last question in you opinion majority of the people here feel that
communism has failed in the Philippine Islands?
Yes. I think I understand those sentiments
Ignacio. Thank you very much and goodbye.