PROPOSED FINDING AID FOR HUKBALAHAP GUERRILLA UNIT FILES OF THE DIGITIZED WORLD WAR II PHILIPPINE ARCHIVES COLLECTION OF THE PHILIPPINE VETERANS AFFAIRS OFFICE (PVAO)

Abstract

This paper focuses on the development of a proposed finding aid for the digitized Philippine Archives Collection of the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO). The original records are in the state of deterioration and are currently housed at the US National Archives and Records Administration in College Park, Maryland. The retrieved records of Guerrilla Unit Recognition Files (1941 – 1948) consist of 271 Legal Archives Boxes. For the short duration of the project, the author concentrated on one specific group of guerilla which is the Hukbalahap, an acronym for Hukbong Bayan Laban sa Hapon (People’s Anti—Japanese Army). This record group is important and can be used to supplement the gaps in the WWII history, and the war activities and bravery of Filipino soldiers and civilians during this period. The collection is composed of textual records in various formats such as rosters, military reports and correspondence. The finding aid is based on the principles of archival arrangement and description, and the General International Standard Archival Description ISAD(G), Second Edition, 2000.