By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
In an announcement published on YouTube on Monday, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro announced the appointment of current PhilHealth Acting President and CEO Edwin Mercado as the new Health Secretary.
Dr. Mercado will be taking the reins from outgoing Health Secretary Dr. Jose Pujalte Jr., who voluntarily stepped down from his post due to health concerns.
Earlier, former Health chief Pujalte Jr. was appointed by President Marcos Jr. as the new DOH chief on July 13, filling in the position vacated by former Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa.
Apart from earning his degree in medicine from the University of the Philippines (UP) in 1987, Secretary Mercado obtained his Master of Medical Science in Global Health Delivery at Harvard University in 2023. He also holds an executive master’s degree in Healthcare Administration from the University of North Carolina.
Prior to entering government service, Dr. Mercado had 35 years of experience under his belt, serving as the medical director of the Daniel Mercado Medical Center (1998-2000) and as the president and CEO of various hospitals from 2000-2016.
He also served as the vice chairperson of the Mercado General Hospital/Qualimed Health Network from 2021-2025 before he was appointed as the acting PhilHealth chief on Feb. 4, 2025.
To fill the post vacated by Secretary Mercado, Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho is appointed as the new acting President and CEO of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).
Prior to becoming the chief health officer of a health solutions firm, she served in various capacities within the Department of Health (DOH)—as deputy spokesperson from March 2020-December 2021; as undersecretary from July 2022-December 2023; and as assistant secretary from January 2023-January 2024.
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