Orlando "Orly" Sanchez Mercado (Tagalog pronunciation: [ˈsɐntʃes mɛɾˈkadɔ], born Orlando Mercado y Sanchez; April 26, 1946) 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.
Mercado's career in Radio broadcasting began when he got a job as Disc Jockey for the program Night Life on Manila FM Station DZXX.
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.
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.
As Secretary/Minister of Department of National Defense, he: In the 2001 Senate election, Mercado ran as an independent candidate under the Pwersa ng Masa Coalition but he failed to win a seat.