[2] A monument dedicated to the Huks[clarification needed] in Cabiao, Nueva Ecija, was constructed to honor their actions during World War II.

The Hukbalahap movement has deep roots in the Spanish encomienda, a system of grants to reward soldiers who had conquered New Spain, established in 1570.

Pedro Abad Santos, The founding member of the Socialist Party of the Philippines, had also ordered Luis Taruc to mobilize forces in Pampanga.

[5]: 31  Members of the PKP, the Popular Front Party, the League for the Defense of Democracy, KPMP, AMT, and KAP convened to create a structure for unified resistance against the Japanese.

The political aim was to discredit the Japanese-sponsored republic and build the concept of a functioning democracy as a grass roots level, while the economic objective was to prevent the enemy's looting.

Key positions were filled out as follows:[7]: 38 At the advent of this conference, several armed groups were immediately organized and began operating in Central Luzon.

A significant event was on March 13, 1942, when a squadron headed by Felipa Culala (alias Dayang-Dayang) encountered and defeated Japanese forces in Mandili, Candaba, Pampanga.

[9]: 63 On March 29, 1942, peasant leaders met in a forest clearing located in Sitio Bawit, Barrio San Julian, at the junction of Tarlac, Pampanga, and Nueva Ecija to form a united organization.

After the meeting, a military committee was formed with Taruc (Supremo), Castro Alejandrino (Vice Commander), Bernardo Poblete (Tandang Banal), and Culala as members.

[9] Robert Lapham reports either Luis Taruc or Casto Alejandrino met with Lieutenant Colonel Claude Thorp at Camp Sanchez in the spring of 1942, and the conferees agreed to cooperate, share equipment and supplies, with the Americans providing trainers.

[11]: 21, 128–129  However, though the Huks fought the Japanese, they also "tried to thwart United States Army Forces in the Far East guerrillas", "therefore, they were considered disloyal and were not accorded U.S. recognition or benefits at the end of the war.

"[11]: 233 After its inception, the group grew quickly and, by late summer in 1943, It was claimed to have 15,000 to 20,000 active men and women military fighters and 50,000 more in reserve.

In areas that the group controlled, they set up local governments (Sandatahang Tanod ng Bayan, Barrio United Defense Corps) and instituted land reforms, dividing up the largest estates equally among the peasants and often killing the landlords.

They were not above plundering and torturing ordinary Filipinos, and they were treacherous enemies of all other guerrillas (on Luzon).However, the Hukbalahap claimed that it extended its guerrilla warfare campaign for over a decade merely in search of recognition as World War II freedom fighters and former American and Filipino allies who deserved a share of war reparations.

[5] In 1946, peasants in Central Luzon backed members of the Democratic Alliance in that year's election, with six candidates eventually winning seats in the Senate.

[14] The continuing condemnation and new post-war causes of the movement prompted the Huk leaders to adopt a new name, the "Hukbong Mapagpalaya ng Bayan" or the "People's Liberation Army" in 1950.

The Huks confiscated funds and property to sustain their movement and relied on small village organizers for political and material support.

The 7th BCT would develop a reputation toward employing a more comprehensive, more unconventional counterinsurgency strategy and reduced the random brutality against the civilian population.

On August 26, 1950, in an "anniversary celebration" of the Cry of Pugad Lawin, the Huks temporarily seized Santa Cruz, Laguna, and Camp Makabulos, Tarlac, confiscating money, food, weapons, ammunition, clothing, medicine, and office supplies.

With the Hukbalahap rebellion growing in strength and the security situation in the Philippines becoming seriously threatened, Magsaysay urged President Elpidio Quirino to suspend the writ of habeas corpus for the duration of the Huk campaign.

Santos' masterstroke was the enlistment of Pedro Valentin, a local mountain leader who knew the people and the terrain like the back of his hand.

Force X employed psychological warfare through combat intelligence and infiltration that relied on secrecy in planning, training, and execution of attack.

[5]: 31  It was headed by the Central Luzon Bureau, with Vicente Lava as its secretary, and a secretariat, ostensibly a party apparatus meant to keep the Huks in line with PKP ideology.

[9]: 87  After the Cabiao raid by the Japanese, the PKP adopted a "retreat for defense" policy, which broke up squads to smaller groups of three to five men.

[9]: 73  The Hukbalahap government also performed civil tasks, such as officiating in weddings, baptisms, funerals, and issued marriage licenses and birth certificates.