Mayor Jon Aying is a retired Filipino general and politician. He is currently serving as mayor of Sara, a municipality of Iloilo Province in Western Visayas Region, Philippines.
Mayor Aying was born in Sara, Iloilo on December 31, 1961. He is a graduate of Philippine Military Academy “Maharlika” Class of 1984.

On Training and Education:
Major General Aying is a consistent outstanding and honor student in all his military and civilian training and education undertakings. He is the recipient of the Athletic Saber Award of PMA Class of 1984 and became popular for being the Strongest Man in the Corps for six (6) consecutive semesters for having the highest rating in physical fitness tests, sports and athletic competitions. He consistently received eight ( Academic Proficiency Awards, as well as eight ( Physical Proficiency “Bernardo Carpio” Awards – an all-time record in the field of physical proficiency in Philippine military history, that made him the undisputed “tarzan” in the Armed Forces in the 1980’s.
Major General Aying is a scout ranger, a parachutist-airborne, scuba diver, and British Royal marine commando of the world’s toughest combat school – the British Royal Marine Commando Training Center in England, United Kingdom with the title award of the “Green Beret”. He has specialized in military intelligence operations and a master of arts in infantry operations. He finished his Command and General Staff Course in 2000 ahead of his contemporaries and Master in National Security Administration in 2007 with flying colors. He graduated the Joint and Combined Warfighting Course at Joint Forces Staff College in Virginia, U.S.A. in 2005 with a grade of flat one (1) and became a fellow of the International Visitor Leadership Program of the Department of State, U.S.A. after attending the “Conflict Resolution and Peace-Building” Course in Washington D.C. in 2009. He is also a graduate of Doctor in Public Administration at West Negros University in Bacolod City and was awarded as excellent in dissertation and Comprehensive Exam.
Major General Aying has a natural talent of an instructor, trainer and educator. He has been a trainer in the Scout Ranger Training Center and Commandant of the Division Training Unit, 2 nd Infantry Division, Philippine Army. He also lectures Scenario-based National Security Strategic Planning and Understanding Violent Extremism. As an expert of pistol and rifle marksmanship, he was then a member of the Philippine Army Rifle and Pistol Team from 1996 to 1998 which he competed in the ASEAN Armies Rifle Meet particularly in Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines.

Writings and Publications:
In the art of communication, one of the great assets of Major General Aying is his critical and strategic thinking and writing skills. As a master of infantry operations, he led the writing of the Army Manual on Infantry Rifle Platoon and Squad Tactics. As authority in physical fitness, he wrote the Army Physical Fitness Training Manual. General Aying values training and education with primacy that led him to write the Philippine Army Training System or PATS Manual which was published by the Philippine Army as its fundamental concept of training and education. Soaring higher in his career, he authored an Army counter-insurgency operational handbook entitled – Strategy, Warfare and Conflict Studies: Armed Forces of the Philippines vs. CPP/NPA/NDF that contributed a lot to the Armed Forces’ paradigm shift in addressing insurgency.
Having been the Executive Assistant to the Undersecretary of National Defense, he spearheaded the national security interagency strategic planning resulting to the crafting of national strategic documents, namely: the Philippines Scenarios 2013-2022, the Defense Strategic Environment Assessment and Defense Strategic Planning Assessment. He also wrote the Defense Strategic Planning System Handbook for the Department of National Defense in 2010. General Aying represented the Department both in national and international defense and security dialogues and engagements particularly in Beijing (China), Paris France), London (England) and Istanbul (Turkey). Few years ago, he authored the Provincial Peace, Integration and Development Approach of Negros Occidental, a development-led strategy to resolve armed conflict, focused on ameliorating the social, economic and security situation of highly affected and vulnerable communities towards a just and lasting peace. General Aying was created and operationalized the Negros Occidental Wellness Program, the implementation of the “Marching for Peace, Serving the Countryside”, and the development of the renowned “Negros First – Army Wellness Farms”, benefiting hundreds of thousands Negrenses. He also conceptualized Bayanihan Team Activities-Awareness and Basic Needs Operations (BTA-ABNO) which aims to promote community empowerment and ownership for the local residents in the identified most depressed and underprivileged sitios and barangays in the province. All of these led to the declaration of Province of Negros Occidental as “Peaceful and Ready for Further Development”. And with that, he was accorded the title of the “Adopted Son of the Province of Negros Occidental” by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan on 6 May 2015.

Military and Civilian Awards:
Because of his diligence, dedication to duty, excellence and professionalism, General Aying received numerous and various awards and honors, as follows: 56 military medals and badges, 65 letters of commendations, 11 anti-dissident campaign medals and ribbons, and more than a hundred certificates and plaques of appreciation and recognition.

3ID Accomplishments:
As the Commander 3ID, he crafted the Peace and Security Resiliency Infrastructure Program which led to the creation of Region 6 Task force Aninipay and several Joint Task forces from different provinces in Regions 6 and 7 that can provide timely response and resilience in times of insurgency and terrorism brought by CPP-NPA and IS-linked Mindanao Based Violent Extremists and Terrorists, as well as to counter illegal drugs, Natural and Human-Induced Disasters, and Populace Vulnerabilities. Also, as an advocate of peace and security, he intensified his dialogues on Understanding Violent Terrorism to different Universities, Business Sector, Muslim Communities, Catholic Institutions, Pastor and Community Leaders, and Civil Society Organizations. He even strengthened on giving awareness of Comprehensive Local Integration Program to far flung and conflict affected communities thru the Public Information Patrol (PIP).

Family:
Major General Aying is married to Engineer Lea Bagaygay Landazabal, also from Sara, Iloilo, currently, the Head of Quality Control Department of Makati Development Corporation under the Ayala Group of Companies. They are blessed with three (3) children: Jon Ryan, a licensed Medical Doctor; Joshua Moses, a Civil Engineer; and Zayne Leigh, a registered nurse.