PHILIPINES POLITICS

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32306, 26 May 1970, Page 16

PHILIPINES POLITICS

Possibility Of Communism In spite of considerable progress being made in the Philippines there remained the possibility that it could “go Communist," said Professor J. R. W. Young, a Canadian, who recently completed a year there. Addressing the Christchurch branch of the United Nations Association of New Zealand, Professor Young, who works in agricultural education for UNESCO, said that communism was spread ing in the Philippines. One of the reasons why communism “spread like a prairie fire” in South-East Asia was the extremes between wealth and poverty and because of Government inefficiency. In the Philippines the core of the Communists were the Huks, who were active and in close touch with China—which provided guerrilla training.

“It is unfortunate that the bulk of the students are pawns of China,” said Professor Young Ninety-eight per cent of the people running the Philippines were strongly pro-West and pro-democratic, and were 'convinced that democracy ; was the only answer for their ! national development, he said.