Juan L. Mercado is a columnist for Philippine Daily Inquirer and Cebu Daily News. He writes a Sunday column for Sun-Star Cebu and its syndicated members, Bohol Chronicle and other community papers. He started his career in journalism in early 1950s and served as correspondent for foreign publications including London’s Financial Times and Honolulu-Star Bulletin. Mercado became the Philippine Press Institute’s founding-director. He also edited DEPTHNews, published by the Magsaysay Award-winning Press Foundation of Asia. Following the “People Power Uprising,” and after 19 years of United Nations service, Mercado returned to the Philippines to resume journalism work. He was cited for excellence in opinion writing by Society of Publishers in Asia. In 2005 and 2007, he received the “best columnist award” from the Catholic Archdiocesan Commission for Mass Media.
