Luis Mangalus Taruc (; June 21, 1913 – May 4, 2005) was a Filipino political figure and rebel during the agrarian unrest of the 1930s until the end of the Cold War. He was the leader of the Hukbalahap group (from Hukbong Bayan Laban sa Hapon) between 1942 and 1950.
Early life and career
Luis Mangalus Taruc was born of peasant stock in the barrio of Santa Monica, township of San Luis, Pampanga on 21 June 1913. studying medicine and law, but no longer able to afford the expenses, He was influenced by Pedro Abad Santos, a Marxist, whom Luis regarded as a true socialist.
He led a large people's army against the Japanese invaders, and their "puppet constabulary", as Supremo Luis Taruc,
Taruc went underground in late 1946, following failed negotiations with President Roxas, and the Huks soon numbered 10,000 armed fighters. effectively ending the Huk rebellion. On 15 June 1954, Luis met with President Magsaysay and Gen. Eulogio Balao at Camp Murphy, where Luis agreed to a trial. After his release, he continued to work for agrarian reforms. His struggle on behalf of the poor farmers persuaded local and national leaders to strengthen the legal rights of farm workers and led to a more equitable distribution of farm land. In his later years Taruc claimed to have never been a real communist, but rather always advocated Christian democratic socialism; he supported land reform strengthening the rights of local, small farmers over corporations and hereditary feudal elite.
Legacy
thumb|right|Luis M. Taruc Freedom Park in [[San Luis, Pampanga in Barangay San Sebastian, beside Barangay Santa Cruz Poblacion along the Baliuag-Candaba-San Luis Provincial Road]]
Taruc dictated Born of the People (1953) to American communist and ghost writer William Pomeroy. Luis Taruc used Alipato, meaning "spark that spreads a fire", as his pseudonym. "Born of the People" was Nelson Mandela's reference on peasant resistance and guerrilla warfare when he was the commander in chief of the uMkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation).
While in New Bilibid Prison, Taruc composed He Who Rides the Tiger (1967). In 2003, he explained to historian Keith Thor Carlson that he attributed the revolution's failure to the dogmatism of members of the politburo's Russian-trained elite, in particular José and Jesus Lava, an accusation that runs contrary to the views of the Lavas and William Pomeroy who countered that Taruc suffered from a cult of personality.
Several Huk veterans organizations dispute the credit heaped on Taruc for organizing the Hukbalahap during World War II. They contend that Taruc only joined the movement when several prominent Huk leaders were captured and executed by the Japanese, and that there were several Huk brigades operating in concert, under Castro Alejandrino, Eusebio Aquino, and Mariano Franco among others.
See also
- Hukbalahap rebellion