JAPANESE OCCUPATION PERIOD (1941-1945)

JAPANESE OCCUPATION PERIOD (1941-1945)

Japanese invasion of the Philippines on 10 December 1941 cut short American
rule and for four years the archipelago was under the Japanese occupational government.
Anti-Japanese guerrilla activity was widespread and fierce through out the country during
the war. A prominent guerrilla group in Central Luzon was the Hukbo ng Bayan Laban
sa Hapon or People's Army Against the Japanese (Hukbalahap or Huks for short) whose
membership was composed of peasants and workers. The Huks was the military arm of
the Communist Party of the Philippines.

In the south, prominent Muslim guerrilla leaders were Mohammad Ali Dimaporo
and Rasid Lucman of Lanao and Salipada Pendatun from Cotabato. The Japanese were
wary of the reputation of the Moros and they maintained a safe distance from them
through out the period of occupation. The Allied forces under the command of General
Douglas MacArthur liberated the Philippines from the Japanese in 1945.