Manuel Tecson Yan, Sr. (January 24, 1920 – December 4, 2008) was a Cabinet Secretary of the Aquino, Ramos and Estrada administrations,

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

veteran and

Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (CSAFP) is the highest-ranking military officer (except for the President of the Philippines, who holds the position of Commander-in-Chief equivalent to a five-star general) and the head ...

from 1968 until 1972. He holds the singular Philippine Government Record of continuous longest serving public Officer from April 1937 to January 2001 or a total 63 years and 9 months spanning twelve Philippine Presidents.

Military life

PMA Cadet

Yan entered the

Philippine Military Academy The Philippine Military Academy ( fil, Akademiyang Militar ng Pilipinas / es, Academia Militar de Filipinas) also referred to by its acronym PMA is the premier military academy for Filipinos aspiring for a commission as a military officer of ...

(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 Sergio Osmeña Sr. (, ; 9 September 1878 – 19 October 1961) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the fourth president of the Philippines from 1944 to 1946. He was vice president under Manuel L. Quezon. Upon Quezon's sudd ...

, 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 The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) ( fil, Sandatahang Lakas ng Pilipinas) are the military forces of the Philippines. It consists of three main service branches; the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy (including the Marine Corps). The ...

in 1941. In 1942, he survived the

Pantingan River Massacre The Pantingan River massacre ( Filipino: ''Pagpatay sa Ilog Pantingan'') took place during the Bataan Death March in mid-April 1942. Several hundred soldiers from the Philippine Commonwealth Army's 1st, 11th, 71st, and 91st Divisions on the marc ...

, which took place during the

Bataan Death March The Bataan Death March (Filipino: ''Martsa ng Kamatayan sa Bataan''; Spanish: ''Marcha de la muerte de Bataán'' ; Kapampangan: ''Martsa ning Kematayan quing Bataan''; Japanese: バターン死の行進, Hepburn: ''Batān Shi no Kōshin'') was ...

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 Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...

as the

. In the AFP's history, Yan (at the age of 48) was the youngest military member who had ever held this position. However, Yan resigned his post in 1972 because he did not want to be involved with the implementation of

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

. In 1971, Yan had prominently told media that the grounds for Marcos to either impose of martial law or suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus did not exist.

Post military service

Yan 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 1987. After the resignation of Secretary of Foreign Affairs

Salvador Laurel Salvador Roman Hidalgo Laurel (, November 18, 1928 – January 27, 2004), also known as Doy Laurel, was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the vice president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992 under President Corazon Aquino an ...

, he was nominated as Secretary of Foreign Affairs from February to October 1987, 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 Fidel Valdez Ramos (, ; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR and Eddie Ramos, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military ...

appointed him as the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process, a position which he retained until the overthrow from the presidency of Ramos' successor,

Joseph Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada, (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor. He served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, the 9th vice presi ...

. Among his notable achievements as the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process was engineering a peace pact with the

Moro National Liberation Front The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF; ar, الجبهة الوطنية لتحرير مورو) is a political organization in the Philippines that was founded in 1972. It started as a splinter group of the Muslim Independence Movement. The ...

, which signed the agreement with government in 1996 known as the 1996 Final Peace Agreement. Yan was awarded (in February 2008) an honorary degree by De La Salle University, a degree of Doctor of Humanities '' honoris causa'' for being the longest serving government official, serving eleven presidents from

Manuel Quezon Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina, (; 19 August 1878 – 1 August 1944), also known by his initials MLQ, was a Filipino lawyer, statesman, soldier and politician who served as president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 until his d ...

to Joseph Estrada. He served 63 continuous years from 1937 to 2001, a record which has not been broken as of 2019.

Personal life

Yan was married to Amelia Acab (deceased) and remarried Eloisa Fernandez. His children are : Manuel Jr., Bev, Roby, Sita, Egay, Mawie, Leo, Mina, Joy, Raul and Lou. He is the grandfather of Justice Undersecretary Emmeline Aglipay-Villar, Congressman Michael Edgar Yan Aglipay, actor and matinee idol

Rico Yan Rico Yan (; born Ricardo Carlos Castro Yan; March 14, 1975 – March 29, 2002) was a Filipino matinee idol, model, film and television actor, host, spokesperson and entrepreneur. Yan graduated from De La Salle University in 1997 with a degr ...

(1975–2002), and TV host and former San Juan councilor Bobby Yan.

Death

Yan died on December 4, 2008, in a hospital in

Pasig Pasig, officially the City of Pasig ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasig), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 803,159 people. It is located along the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yan, Manuel T. Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs (Philippines) Filipino generals Presidential Advisers on the Peace Process of the Philippines Filipino military personnel of World War II 1920 births 2008 deaths Secretaries of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines Ambassadors of the Philippines to the United Kingdom Corazon Aquino administration cabinet members Ramos administration cabinet members Burials at the Manila Memorial Park – Sucat Estrada administration cabinet members Philippine Military Academy alumni Ferdinand Marcos administration personnel Bataan Death March prisoners