Rebellion and Repression in the Philippines - Hardcover

Kessler, Richard J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0300044062 ISBN 13: 9780300044065

Publisher: Yale University Press, 1989

Synopsis

Investigates armed rebellion in the Philippines and the two principal adversaries: the Communist New People's Army and the armed forces of the Philippines. The author draws on recently declassified printed sources and interviews with both guerillas and military personnel.

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Reviews

Opposing other studies of the revolutionary struggle in the geographically and socially fragmented Philippines, Kessler--Senate Foreign Relations staff member responsible for Asian issues--argues that future stability in this nation depends as much on the evolving character of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) as it does on the strategy of the Communist Party and its New Model Army. Looking closely at the histories and present status of both adversaries ("like scorpions, they are locked in a deadly embrace"), he examines how the Manila government has allegedly used the AFP to protect the interests of the elite. The government's counter-insurgency program "guarantees" insurgencies to come, claims the author, tracing the development of the pattern through the Huk rebellion, the Marcos era and into the present Aquino government. U.S. security and economic interests in the Philippines are substantial, but Kessler believes that Americans "lack the financial resources, the will, and even the right" to interfere directly in the reform of the AFP. He hopes that Washington aid programs will "help clarify" the means by which Filipinos can determine their own destiny.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The fall of the Marcos regime in the Philippines has not resolved the basic social and economic problems in that former colony of the United States. Kessler and Jones provide much needed perspectives on these problems, although they approach them in very different ways. Kessler's book is an academic study concentrating on rebellions in the Philippines, showing that the current Communist situation is very much a part of that tradition. Jones, in contrast, is a journalist (he's the Manila special correspondent for The Washington Post ) who went underground and lived with Communists over an extended period of time. His book is overwhelmingly based on personal interviews with the principals concerned. While this format does allow for self-aggrandizement, Jones is careful to document both the successes and failures of the Communists. Both books draw the same conclusion; namely, no government in Manila is safe until basic structural reforms of society are made. Both titles are highly recommended for the insight they provide in what easily could be the United States' next major involvement in Asian affairs.
- Donald Clay Johnson, Univ. of Minnesota Lib., Minneapolis
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication date: 1989
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0300044062
• ISBN 13: 9780300044065
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256