Luis Taruc and the Huks of San Luis
How a San Luis farm boy became Supremo of the Hukbalahap, and the 2023 monument that honours him and 400 fighters.
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Discover Pampanga Editors · October 2026
Luis Taruc was born in San Luis on June 21, 1913, the feast day of the town's patron. He grew up to champion the rights of farmers and workers in Central Luzon.
The Hukbalahap
On March 29, 1942, months into the Japanese occupation, a group of peasant leaders met in a forest clearing where Tarlac, Pampanga and Nueva Ecija meet. They founded the Hukbong Bayan Laban sa mga Hapon, the People's Army Against the Japanese, better known as the Hukbalahap or Huks. Taruc was named Supremo of its military committee.
After the war he ran with the Democratic Alliance in 1946 and later led the Huks in a renewed uprising before surrendering on May 17, 1954. He died on May 4, 2005.
Remembered at home
On October 14, 2023, San Luis unveiled the Luis M. Taruc Hukbalahap Monument at the Garden of Peace Memorial Park in Barangay Santa Monica. It honours about 400 guerrillas, including Praxedes Clarin, one of the last surviving Huks.
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More in San Luis
Culture
Cabagsac: the San Luis church that nets its bats
Why San Luis was once called Cabagsac, and how its parish church still shares its roof with fruit bats.
Things to do nearby
Attractions
Old San Luis Municipal Hall
The old municipal hall in San Luis's town centre, near the church, market and plaza.
Attractions
Luis M. Taruc Hukbalahap Monument
Monument unveiled in 2023 in San Luis to Luis Taruc and some 400 Hukbalahap guerrillas who fought the Japanese occupation.
© Ralff Nestor Nacor on Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SAAttractions
San Luis Gonzaga Parish Church
San Luis's Spanish-style parish church on the old Cabagsac site, where a fishnet above the altar catches roosting fruit bats.