INCREASE OF TERRORISM IN PHILIPPINES
recent resurgence of terrorism in central Luzonto be essentially ato President's Marcos' efforts to end lawlessness in the Philippine countryside. Marcos' campaign has tended toutually beneficial collusion between local officials andelements, some of which are still controlled or influenced by the Huks.
The strength of the Hukwas broken iny the late president Magsaysay, and subsequent efforts to revitalize it has been hampered byamong its leaders. remnants of the movement haverofitablewith gangster andelements, particularly in its former stronghold in central Luzon.
This area has long been plagued by lawlessness,and civil unrest,by the vast divergences in personal wealth. Presidentsoon after taking office,road program ofand civic action aimed at wiping out sources of discontent in the area. In the face of the most recent incidents, including the assassinationtrongly anti-Coiiaaunist mayor in mid-July, Marcos has authorized additional troops andrash civic reform program utilizing the civic action troops slated for Vietnam.
The Huk threat has frequently been overplayed by Filipinoand the sensationalist Manila press, both for domesticreasons andever for seeking greater US aid. However, if Marcos* reform program fails, central Luzon provides an ideal environmentignificant Huk
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