ANGELES CITY — Kapampangans are set to honor Hukbong Bayan Laban sa Hapon (Hukbalahap) founder Luis Taruc on the occasion of his birth centenary on June 21.
Ceremonies have been slated in Taruc’s San Luis hometown in the province by the Holy Angel University’s Center for Kapampangan Studies (HAU-CKS) here, in partnership with the provincial government of Pampanga and municipal government of San Luis.
HAU-CKS Director Robbie Tantingco said Taruc will be honored in a wreath-laying ceremony at Luis Taruc Freedom Park in San Luis town at 9 a.m. on June 21.
“Hukbalahap started with 200 guerillas at the height of World War II in 1942. By the end of the war, they had 10,000 members. It killed more than 20,000 Japanese soldiers, spies, and collaborators,” said Tantingco who is also a noted historian of Pampanga.
“Luis Taruc fought to regain freedom from the invading Japanese during World War II and then fought for the emancipation of farmers and tenants from a centuries-old feudal system that kept them overworked and underpaid.
He spent his remaining years fighting for the benefits of war veterans. He was a true patriot and revolutionary,” Tantingco added.
The Kapampangan patriot died on May 4, 2005 at the age of 91 due to heart attack.
