Orly Mercado (politician)

Mercado's wife, Dr. Susan Pineda-Mercado, the highest-ranking Filipino woman in the World Health Organization (WHO), was named Special Envoy for Global Health Initiatives by the government of the Philippines in 2018.

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 is also a faculty member 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 Radyo Singko 92.3 NewsFM.

In 2009, he was appointed as the first permanent representative of the Philippines to ASEAN, a newly created ambassadorial post which did not then require Commission on Appointments approval.

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. However, his nomination was rejected by Senator Jinggoy Estrada (son of President Estrada), then a member of the Commission on Appointments.

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.

In the 2001 Senate election, Mercado ran as an independent candidate under the Pwersa ng Masa Coalition but he failed to win a seat. In 2004, he ran again as a member of Lakas–CMD and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's coalition, K4 but once again failed to win a seat.

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.

Since 1975 Mercado has been the current producer and host of GMA Network's Kapwa Ko Mahal Ko (I Love My Fellowmen), the pioneer television program in public service in the Philippines.

Mercadio'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 1969, taking on roles as a reporter for The World Tonight, and for the Radyo Patrol show on ABS CBN's sister radio station DZAQ (now DZMM).

He was the head and anchor of the popular radio program Radyo Patrol of ABS-CBN from 1969 to 1971 as well as the field reporter for pre-Martial Law days in The World Tonight. 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 then his release after nine and a half months in detention, he returned to broadcasting and started teaching.

Orlando Sanchez Mercado (Tagalog pronunciation: [mɛɾˈkadɔ], born Orlando Mercado y Sanchez; April 26, 1946), better known as Orly Mercado, 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.