Orlando Mercado

Orlando Mercado (1999)

Orlando "Orly" Sanchez Mercado (born April 26, 1946 ) is a former Filipino politician who was not only a senator , but also a defense minister .

Life

Radio presenter and Marcos dictator

Mercado, the son of a teacher in Manila grew up, began after the visit of Celedonio Salvador Elementary School and the Manuel Roxas High School first political science at the University of the Philippines (UP) and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA Political Science ) from. In 1961 he was the first public school student to represent the Philippines at a youth forum in New York City . He completed a subsequent postgraduate degree in communication science at the UP with a Master of Arts (MA Communications), where he financed his studies as a simple worker in the office of the urban engineer of Manila and as an office clerk in the city hall of Manila. He lost another job as a radio announcer for a state broadcaster after he co-founded a union that shortly thereafter called for a strike .

Shortly thereafter, he became a police reporter at ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation , before he was the presenter of the well-known ABS-CBN radio program Radio Patrol from 1969 to 1971 . He gained particular recognition for his portrayal of current events and his caustic social comments. After the imposition of martial law by the dictatorial ruling President Ferdinand Marcos on September 21, 1972, he was arrested and spent ten months in the military prison at Fort Bonifacio.

Upon his release, Mercado became the producer and presenter of Kapwa Ko, Mahal Ko , the longest running public program of assistance to the needy in various parts of the Philippines. He has received several awards for his appealing and current radio broadcasts, including the award of one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) in 1978 in the field of public mass media .

In addition, he also became associate professor ( associate professor ) and heads of departments of Communication Studies at Miriam College and the University of Santo Tomas appointed.

Towards the end of the reign of Ferdinand Marcos he also began a political career and was elected as a non-party in the Quezon City constituency on May 14, 1984 as a member of Congress ( Batasang Pambansa ) . In the election he received the best vote and was able to prevail against several followers of President Marcos.

Political career after the fall of Marcos

After the fall of Ferdinand Marcos and the inauguration of President Corazon Aquino February 25, 1986 was appointed Orly Mercado of the chairman of the development committee for the state parks, including the large parks in Manila as the Luneta Park and Rizal Park include .

In 1987 he was elected a member of the re-established Senate, which was dissolved in 1973 under martial law, and was a member of it after re-elections in 1992 and 1995 to 1998.

During this time from 1987 to 1989 was also leader of the majority faction ( Majority Floor Leader ) as well as chairman of the committee for trade and commerce. He later served as chairman of the National Defense and Science and Technology Committees, as well as vice-chairman of the Finance, Natural Resources, Civil Service, and Health and Demography Committees. He was also the deputy majority leader in the Senate and in the influential Commission on Appointments .

During his long tenure in the Senate, he was instrumental in the enactment of important social legislation such as the Pharmaceuticals Act of 1988 (Republic Act RA 6675), the Act Establishing Science and Technology Centers in the Provinces (RA 6959), the Act for People with Disabilities ( RA 7277), the National Blood Donation Service Act (RA 7719), the Veterans Guarantee of Permanent Residence Act (RA 7837), and the Barangay Health Services Promotion Act . Most recently he was one of the leading authors of the Act on the Modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (RA 7898).

In addition, as chairman of the non-governmental organization Green Coalition, he campaigned for environmental protection and the protection of the tropical rainforests in the Philippines. He was also an official representative at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in June 1992 in Rio de Janeiro and an active member of the New York City-based organization Parlamentarians for Global Action .

After retiring from the Senate, he was appointed Minister of National Defense and Security by President Joseph Estrada on June 30, 1998 . He also held this office for some time in the cabinet of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo after Estrada was removed from office under the pressure of the EDSA II revolution and the previous Vice-President Macapagal-Arroyo was sworn in as the new President on January 20, 2001.

On March 19, 2001, he was succeeded by the previous Chief of Staff of the Philippine Armed Forces , General Angelo Reyes , as Minister for National Defense and Security.

He then largely withdrew from political life and worked as a radio presenter again at times. His appointment by President Macapagal-Arroyo as ambassador to the People's Republic of China with simultaneous accreditation to Mongolia and North Korea , however, was rejected by the Commission on Appointments .

In 2009 he was finally appointed permanent representative to ASEAN .

Web links

• Biography on the Senate homepage

Individual evidence

1. ↑ June 1998 (rulers.org)