Word: taruc
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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...knew of him was that he and his followers had been accused of killing hundreds of innocent civilians, murdering the widow of the late Philippine President Manuel Quezon, burning bedridden patients in an army hospital. But barely three weeks after we went to work, Arsenio brought me the news: Taruc was willing...
...moonlight on the bank of a dried river bed in the Sierra Madre Mountains of Central Luzon. He was softspoken, clear-eyed and warm in manner; he impressed me as a nationalist first and a Communist second. Taruc said: "The people have spoken and overwhelmingly elected President Magsaysay.It is for us to accept their verdict..." He said he was ready to "negotiate a peace settlement." Then, with his followers, he melted into the jungle...
Back in Manila I informed President Magsaysay of the possibility of bringing Taruc back alive. The President referred me to the stern peace terms he had just offered the Huks...
...President would not budge from these terms. Nor did he need to. The Philippine army, reinvigorated since Magsaysay took over, was scoring fresh victories. The dry season was setting in, allowing the troops to penetrate to the deepest Huk lairs, particularly the Candaba swamp which was Taruc's favorite refuge. A turning point had been reached: there were solid indications that the antirebel drive was sapping the morale as well as the armed strength of the hard-pressed enemy...
...Taruc evidently was being squeezed by the mounting pres sure. Through a courier he sent me a note asking for a meeting with Magsaysay himself, "whenever and wherever" the President desired. Magsaysay refused. "I will not give him the importance of meeting me," he said. As far as the President was concerned, Taruc was a common criminal, wanted for murder and sedition. He could either accept the government's terms or suffer the consequences at the hands of the Philippine army...