Huk

The Huk was the name originally coined during the 1940s. It was during this time that a guerilla movement of USAFE and irregular troops battled with the occupying Japanese Army. It's 'official' name was the Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa mga Hapon (Army of the Nation Against the Japanese) or the HUKBALAHAP or simply the Huk. However the movement never really dissolved after the Second World War, it continued to fight against the newly established Philippine Republic for a time until their leader Luis Taruc agreed to a peace treaty with Ramon Magsaysay.

Over the years, other radical groups were formed for various reasons. However because perhaps of a lack of a truly united front or cause, they were all systematically defeated (but not without great cost in resources, time and people).

Not until the Japanese occupation of the 2020s would there be another guerilla war of nationwide scope. At first, the different factions from the different peoples tried to fight them the best they could, hopelessly outgunned by the occupying Marines.

It was during the 9th of April 2031 when representatives of the different groups smuggled their way to Bataan. They met at the wilds surrounding the foot of Mt. Samat, the site where the USAFE made its stand during WWII, where they were summoned via secret communique. Their 'benefactor' turned out to be the dragon Masaru, who also wished to see the Japanese ousted from the land. The details are kept hushed, but it would seem that Masaru had promised to provide them with a means of waging a coordinated war against the Japanese. The leaders eventually agreed to this arrangement, christening their movement after the original band of freedom fighters who fought against Japan.

The Huk continues to wage a guerilla war to this day. They primarily rely on smuggling, kidnap-for-ransom missions and the sale of pirated media to fund their operations, while Masaru provides that which they need that could not be procured through the 'conventional' means.

Post-2061

In 2061 the Ring of Fire erupted and in the aftermath the Imperial Japanese government ordered the withdrawal of the occupation forces, several rebel pirates have begun thinking about the future. They see themselves as the future crimelords of the Philippines and have been using Huk resources to wage war against the Yakuza, as they campaign to take over the sex trade, gambling rackets, and opium fields. In the Philippines, the underworld is now more or less divided between the Yakuza and the new Huk syndicates.

Index

• o70096438Shadows of Asia, 180