ABSTRACT
By 1970, the New People's Army (NPA) could field about 300 lightly armed guerrillas, most of them concentrated in Central Luzon and a few dozen in Isabela. The NPA forces in Isabela were careful to avoid attracting military attention, and raids and ambushes were conducted sparingly. Proselytizing by Kabataang Makabayan (KM) and Samahang Demokratiko ng Kabataan activists was producing a modest flow of recruits to the struggling communist army in the countryside. KM forays into poor rural barrios and urban slums had the same effect of driving home to young activists the stark contrasts and inequities of Philippine society. The army responded by concentrating several battalions in the region, and continual military operations took a heavy toll on the NPA and legal activists who were leading Party-organized peasant organizations. Corpus' dramatic raid and defection were a tremendous propaganda coup for the communist movement which stunned the nation and sent shock waves through the government and armed forces.
