Military takes site of old ‘Stalin U’

BONGABON, Nueva Ecija — Military troopers have uncovered two camps of the assassins of Aurora Quezon, wife of Commonwealth President Manuel Quezon, 63 years after her entourage was ambushed in the Sierra Madre mountains on their way to Baler in Aurora province.

The camps of her Huk ambushers were in a thickly forested area later taken over by the New People’s Army (NPA) in Barangay Labi here.

One of the camps is believed to be what the defunct Philippine Constabulary (PC) had referred to in its reports years ago as the so-called "Stalin University," a Huk training area named after Huk commander Paulino Viernes.

Viernes at the time operated in areas between Aurora province –named after the former first lady –and Nueva Ecija. "Satellite camps" were also found around the two main camps.

"We believe that they were the same camps where the Huks hatched their plans for and launched the assassination of Mrs. Quezon and her party in the winding roads of the Sierra Madre mountains on April 18, 1949," said Col. Jovenal Narcise, commander of the 702nd Army infantry brigade.

The security escorts were no match for about 22 Huk ambushers, he said.

The two camps were uncovered during pursuit operations being conducted by K Force long-range patrol troopers from the 7th Army infantry division, headed by Maj. Jonas Suizon following a series of clashes with the NPA in Carrangalan town where seven communist rebels and one soldier were killed.

"The camp is located at an area where a river and a creek forge. The channels are not even depicted in the military maps," Narcise said, adding that the channels, as well as several huts found in the camp were not visible to air-borne military troopers as they were concealed by thick vegetation.

Narcise cited long-time intelligence reports that Huk communist guerrillas who carried out the assassination of Mrs. Quezon over six decades ago were based here in the Sierra Madre, but the camp had never been located until now.

Baler, birthplace of the late Commonwealth president, was then a part of Quezon province. It later became part of Aurora province when Quezon province was divided.

"We have consulted old records and came to the conclusion that the areas we found with huts were used by the Huks as base in planning the ambush of Mrs. Quezon’s party," Narcise said.

Killed with Mrs. Quezon were her daughter Aurora "Baby" Quezon, Quezon City Mayor Ponciano Bernardo, Col. Antonio Agustin, her son-in-law Philip Buencamino, Col. Primitivo San Agustin, Quezon household cook Pedro Payumo, and escorts from the defunct Philippine Constabulary, Narcise recalled.

The NPA had apparently stumbled upon the camp which it has been using for years now largely to train recruits, including students from lowland provinces, as communist guerrillas, especially during summer. – With Paolo Romero