He was born on August 3, 1964 at San Rafael, Bulacan. He attended the Philippine Military Academy in 1982 and graduated in 1986 as part of the "Sinagtala" Class, and attended major courses in the Armed Forces of the Philippines Command and General Staff College and abroad. A seasoned intelligence officer with a Master's degree in Management, with his commands ranging from Infantry, Scout Rangers, Intelligence and Field Artillery, he started his junior days as a platoon officer, executive officer and company commander at the 39th Infantry Battalion, 10 ID. He also served as the Chief Military Personnel Officer for Filipino Peacekeepers in the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force in Golan Heights, and led the 11th Intelligence Service Unit based in Davao, and served as the Assistant Chief of Unified Command for Operations, U3 of the AFP Central Command. He also served as the commander of the 703rd Infantry Brigade of the 7th Infantry Division, Assistant Commander of the 6th Infantry Division, Commander and Group Commander of the Philippine Army Intelligence and Security Group and Commander of the Philippine Army Civil Military Operations Regiment. During his stint as Commander of the Philippine Army Intelligence and Security Group, he was involved the capture of Benito and Wilma Tiamzon of the Communist Party of the Philippines in 2014. He became the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, J2 in November 2016 to October 2017, where he was involved the arrest of Abu Sayyaf finance officer Khair Mundos. He became the commander of the 7th Infantry Division from October 2017 to January 2019, became the commander of the AFP Eastern Mindanao Command from January 2019 to January 2020, before being promoted as the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines on January 4, 2020, and obtained his fourth star, as well as promoted to the rank of General on January 27, 2020. In June 19, 2020, the position of Chief of Staff was renamed as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. He will retire from military service on August 3, 2020, where he will be replaced by his classmate, Gen. Gilbert Gapay.
He is married with 2 daughters. On March 27, 2020, he has tested positive for COVID-19. As of March 27, 2020, he is the 4th highest ranking Philippine Government official to have been infected with the SARS-CoV2 including Senator Zubiri, Senator Angara and Senator Pimentel.
