During World War II, the Hukbalahap under Luis Taruc and Vicente Lava was organized under PKP leadership with the aim of resisting the Japanese occupation of the Philippines.
However, in 1950, the entire secretariat of the Central Committee of the PKP was arrested, including General Secretary Jose Lava, following the earlier capture of the Politburo in Manila.
Jose Maria Sison was a graduate student and teacher at the University of the Philippines Diliman when he joined the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas in 1962 upon the invitation of Jesus Lava.
Using the nom de guerre "Amado Guerrero", Sison co-founded the Kabataang Makabayan ("Patriotic Youth") with Nilo Tayag in 1964.
[6] On December 26, 1968, Sison and ten of his companions met in Alaminos, Pangasinan and formed the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founded on Marxist–Leninist–Maoist Thought.