Orlando Sanchez Mercado (born April 26, 1946), also known as Orly Mercado, is a politician from the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. Mercado was a senator for three terms (1987–1992, 1992–1995 and 1995–1998) and the head and anchor the popular radio program Radyo Patrol of ABS-CBN from 1969 to 1971. Since 1975, he has been the producer and host of GMA Network's Kapwa Ko Mahal Ko

Kapwa Ko Mahal Ko

Kapwa Ko, Mahal Ko is a public service program aired every Saturday mornings by GMA Network. The show is recognized as the first and longest running public service program in Philippine television...

, the pioneer television program in public service in the Philippines. In 1998, he was appointed Secretary of National Defense by President Joseph Estrada

Joseph Estrada

Joseph "Erap" Ejercito Estrada was the 13th President of the Philippines, serving from 1998 until 2001. Estrada was the first person in the Post-EDSA era to be elected both to the presidency and vice-presidency.Estrada gained popularity as a film actor, playing the lead role in over 100 films in...

. He resigned as Secretary when the call for President Estrada's resignation in 2001 resulted to the EDSA Revolution II. In 2008 Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a Filipino politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010, as the 12th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, and is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga...

 nominated Mercado as Philippine ambassador

Ambassador

An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....

 to the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

, also accredited to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Mongolia

Mongolia

Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...

, however this was bypassed by the Commission on Appointments. In 2009 he was appointed as the first permanent representative of the Philippines to ASEAN, a newly created ambassadorial post that then did not require Commission on Appointments approval. He is currently 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.

Television programs

• Kapwa Ko Mahal Ko
  Kapwa Ko Mahal Ko
  Kapwa Ko, Mahal Ko is a public service program aired every Saturday mornings by GMA Network. The show is recognized as the first and longest running public service program in Philippine television...
  
   (GMA Network) (1975-present)
• What's Up (GMA Network) (1980-1983)
• Lasang Pinoy (GMA Network) (1980-1984)
• Apat na Sulok ng Daigdig (ABS-CBN) (1970-1971)
• Tipunang Bayan (GMA Network) (1974-1975)
• Lunch Date (GMA Network) (1986-1987)
• Kontak 5 (ABC) (1992-1994)
• Newswatch
  Newswatch
  Newswatch is a Nigerian weekly news magazine published by Newswatch Communications Limited in Nigeria.Newswatchs weekly print run can be as high as 100,000 copies....
  
  (RPN) (2008-2009)

Significant Contributions

As Senator, among the measures he authored are:

• Generics Drug and Medicines Act of 1988 (R.A. 6675)
• An Act establishing provincial centres for Science and Technology (R.A. 6959)
• Magna Carta for Disabled Persons (R.A. 7277)
• Consumer Act of the Philippines (R.A. 7394)
• An Act promoting Salt Iodization nationwide (R.A. 8172)
• An Act promoting voluntary blood donation, providing for an adequate supply of safe blood, regulating blood banks, providing penalties for violations thereof (R.A. 8180)
• Children’s Media Act of 1996 (R.A. 8370)
• Philippine National Police Reform Act (R.A. 8851)

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 Administration Office (PVAO)
• Pioneered the use of electronic technology for procurement of equipment and supplies of the Armed Forces of the Philippines