MARLEN V. RONQUILLO
We farmers have this certain nostalgia for the days of the agrarian struggle. That was the time the aggrieved farmers could organize, steal guns and confront the forces that brought about their many miseries. Many died in the struggle, scores disappeared (after visits from the konstabularyo and the local militia) and the luckier ones merely languished in jails. But, at the very least, they fought for their rights and the seminal army they formed became the Hukbalahap (Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon or People’s Anti-Japanese Army), the fiercest fighting force during the Japanese Occupation.