Manuel Yan

Manuel Tecson Yan, Sr. (January 24, 1920 – December 5, 2008) was a Filipino soldier, World War II veteran and Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines from 1968 until 1972.

PMA Cadet
Yan entered the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) after graduating in the Arellano High School in 1937 and became a part of the PMA Class of 1941.

On graduation day, Manuel Yan received the Presidential Sabre. This is a symbol of superiority in both academic work and military training, from Vice President Sergio Osmeña, the commencement speaker. In finishing at the top of his class, Manuel Yan became one of the few to accomplish this feat as a high school graduate. Many young boys who join the PMA do so after one, two or even three years of college work.

Military service
He joined the Armed Forces of the Philippines in 1941 when the World War II exploded. In 1942, he survived the Pantingan River Massacre, which happened during the Bataan Death March.

Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines
After serving as the Chief of the Philippine Constabulary, yan was appointed by President Ferdinand Marcos as the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. In the AFP's history, Yan (at the age of 48) was the youngest military personnel who held this position. However, Yan resigned in his post in 1972.

Post military service
He served the foreign service from 1972 to 1992 in various capacities as first Ambassador to Thailand up to 1981, then Ambassador to Indonesia up to 1986, after which he served as Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs up to 1990 and finally as Ambassador to the United Kingdom up to 1992.

From 1992 - 1994, he was appointed GRP chairman negotiating with Moro rebels.

In 1994, President Fidel V. Ramos appointed him as the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process which he retained until the overthrown from presidency of Ramos' successor, Joseph Estrada.

Among his notable achievements as the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process was engineering a peace pact with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which signed the agreement with government in 1996.

He was awarded on February  2008 an honorary degree by De La Salle university Manila, a degree of Doctorate of humanities honoris causa for being the longest serving government official serving eleven presidents from Manuel Quezon to Joseph Estrada. he served 63 continuous years from 1937 to 2000 a record which has not been broken to this date.

Personal life
Yan was married to Amelia Yan (deceased) and had children: Sonny, Beverly, Roby, Sita, Egay, Mawie Aglipay, Mina, Joy, Raul and Lou. He is the grandfather of the late actor and matinee idol Rico Yan (1975-2002) and TV host and former San Juan councilor Bobby Yan.

Death
Yan died on December 5, 2008 in a hospital in Pasig City.