MANILA, Philippines -- His surname in the Visayan vernacular may mean "simple," but there is nothing simple about the role played by Lieutenant General Alexander Yano, the incoming Armed Forces chief of staff, in the military campaign against the communist and Muslim rebels.

And Yano’s experience is seen as an advantage as he assumes the top post in the Armed Forces of the Philippines on Monday.

The Mindanao-born commander of the Southern Luzon Command of the AFP spent his early years in the military in combat assignments in Samar and in Northern and Southern Luzon fighting elements of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) in the 1980s, according to a profile on him.

Yano is also hailed as the "liberator of Cabatangan" in the southern part of the country for leading the release of 100 hostages from over 300 breakaway members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in Cabatangan complex, Zamboanga City where he was ground tactical commander, it said.

There were no ceasefire violations against the MILF under Yano's term as chairman of the government's Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities, it said.

A member of the Philippine Military Academy's "Magilas" Class of 1976, Yano also received 39 military awards, including five Distinguished Service Stars and a recognition from the Philippine Legion of Honor, it said.

Yano is the ninth chief-of-staff to be appointed by President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo since her term began in 2001. He will replace General Hermogenes Esperon and will serve as chief-of-staff for 13 months until June next year, when he is scheduled to retire, it said.