Orly Mercado

Orlando "Orly" Sanchez Mercado (Tagalog pronunciation: [ˈsɐntʃes mɛɾˈkadɔ], April 26, 1946) is a Filipino politician and broadcast journalist best known for having served as a Senator of the Philippines from 1987 to 1998, Secretary of Defense from 1998 to 2001, and for his long career as a broadcast journalist, most famously for hosting the television program Kapwa Ko Mahal Ko.

Mercado's career in Radio broadcasting began when he got a job as Disc Jockey for the program Night Life on Manila FM Station DZXX. He then became an ABS-CBN journalist in 1968, taking on roles as a reporter for The World Tonight.

He was the head and anchor of Radyo Patrol of ABS-CBN when it started in 1969. It was the first all-talk, all-news 24 hour radio station—the first of its kind in the Philippines. He was also anchor for the Filipino newscast Apat na Sulok ng Daigdig in Channel Four. He also hosted his own morning show, originally called “Orly Bird” however the title of the show was changed after an incident occurred when radio announcer Henry Ragas mistakenly announced “Orly’s Bird” instead. Upon Marcos' Proclamation No. 1081 in 1972, Orly was charged for subversion under Republic Act 1700 (Anti-Subversion Law) and was detained in Fort Bonifacio. He was released after nine and a half months of detention and started teaching communication subjects in the University of the Philippines, Maryknoll College (now Miriam College), Ateneo de Manila University, and Assumption College.

In December of 1975, GMA Network launched the first Philippine public health-public service program on Channel 7, Kapwa Ko Mahal Ko (I Love My Fellowmen). Mercado was the one of the original hosts and executive producer of the program. Later, he became President of the foundation bearing the same name.

Mercado ran and won as a Senator of the Philippines for two consecutive terms, first in 1987 until 1992, and then again from 1992 to 1998.

As Senator, among the measures he authored are:

• R.A. 6675 (1988) – Generics Drug and Medicines Act of 1988
• R.A. 6959 (1990) – An Act establishing provincial centres for Science and Technology
• R.A. 7277 (1992) – Magna Carta for Disabled Persons
• R.A. 7394 (1992) – Consumer Act of the Philippines
• R.A. 8172 (1995) – An Act promoting Salt Iodization nationwide
• R.A. 7719 (1994) – National Blood Services Act of 1994
• R.A. 8370 (1997) – Children's Media Act of 1996
• R.A. 8851 (2000) – Philippine National Police Reform Act

In 1998, he was appointed Secretary of National Defense by President Joseph Estrada. On January 19, 2001, the Chief of Staff and all of the commanding generals of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, together with the rest of the military establishment, withdrew their support for President Estrada who was then facing impeachment for plunder and corruption. Their appearance before a throng of protesters at the EDSA Shrine was the culmination of what was to be known as EDSA People Power II (Second EDSA Revolution), which ousted President Estrada from office. Mercado was reappointed Secretary of Defense by incoming President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo but resigned the post in protest of the designation of a former Chief of Staff as National Security Adviser who was also the subject of Mercado's anti-corruption campaign in the Department of National Defense.

As Secretary/Minister of Department of National Defense, he:

• Instituted a reorganization program in the Department of National Defense to assert civilian supremacy over the military
• Initiated reforms in the Retirement and Separation Benefit Systems (RSBS), the pension fund of the soldiers
• Instituted a computerization program for the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO)
• Pioneered the use of electronic technology for procurement of equipment and supplies of the Armed Forces of the Philippines^[5]

In 2008, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo nominated Mercado as Philippine ambassador to the China (People's Republic of China), also accredited to North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) and Mongolia.^[6] However, his nomination was opposed by Senator Jinggoy Estrada, then a member of the Commission on Appointments, who blamed Mercado’s participation in EDSA Dos as the reason why his father, former President Joseph Estrada, got ousted. .^[7]

In 2009, he was appointed as the first permanent representative of the Philippines to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). As a newly created ambassadorial post, it then did not require Commission on Appointments approval.^[7] The charter of the ASEAN required that all members have a Permanent Representative.

As the Philippines' first Permanent Representative to the ASEAN, he:

• Established the Philippine mission in Jakarta, Indonesia.
• Led efforts in the Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR) to introduce transparency and accountability in the ASEAN Secretariat by way of extensive budget hearings.
• Initiated ASEAN's strategic communication plan, which could create a level of awareness and understanding about the regional organization as an imperative in the effort to create an ASEAN Community by 2015.

Mercado served as the Secretary-General of the Eastern Regional Organization for Public Administration (EROPA), an organization of states, groups and individuals in the general area of Asia and the Pacific, from 2010 to 2021.

He has taught courses in Public Administration and Communication in the University of the Philippines where he obtained all his degrees: Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Master of Arts in Communication, and Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science. He also teaches at the Ateneo de Manila University School of Government. On June 17, 2013, he returned to radio broadcasting with his program "Orly Mercado: All Ready" on Radyo5 92.3 News FM.

Mercado's wife, Dr. Susan Pineda-Mercado, is the highest-ranking Filipino woman in the World Health Organization (WHO). She is the Director for Programme Management at the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office. She was previously named Special Envoy for Global Health Initiatives by the government of the Philippines in 2018.