18/07/2025
Juan L. Mercado passes away at 94
Denise Mae P. Codis
Published:17th Jul, 2025 at 4:16 PM
ESTEEMED journalist and columnist Juan L. Mercado, a towering figure in Philippine media whose career spanned more than five decades, passed away at the age of 94 from natural causes at 10 p.m. on Wednesday, July 16, 2025, the family said.
Mercado, a former columnist for SunStar Cebu and the Philippine Daily Inquirer, was widely respected for his incisive commentaries and steadfast commitment to public interest journalism.
Until his retirement, he continued to write opinion columns syndicated across various community papers, including the Cebu Daily News, the Bohol Chronicle, and other regional publications.
He began his journalism career in the early 1950s with Cebu’s Southern Star, later moving to Manila where he covered the Philippine Senate for the Evening News and rose to become its associate editor.
His reporting extended to international affairs, including a stint covering the United Nations in New York and work as a correspondent for international publications such as London’s Financial Times and the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
A proud Cebuano, Mercado graduated from the University of San Carlos and began postgraduate studies at Ateneo de Manila before choosing to pursue full-time journalism.
He later trained at the American Press Institute at Columbia University and was named a Kissinger Fellow at Harvard University.
Among his many contributions, Mercado was instrumental in laying the groundwork for the Cebu Citizens-Press Council (CCPC) in the early 2000s.
The CCPC today stands as a key institution in Cebu’s media landscape, promoting press freedom, ethical journalism, and media accountability.
Mercado was also a founding director of the Philippine Press Institute and the Press Foundation of Asia, where he edited the award-winning DEPTHnews magazine.
For his leadership and impact, the Asian Media Information and Communication Centre honored him in 2014 as “an illustrious pioneer in the field of Asian journalism and mass communication.”
A defining moment in his life came during the martial law years.
In 1972, while serving as a contributing editor for the Philippine News Service, Mercado was detained without charges in the first wave of arrests under the Marcos dictatorship.
Alongside 21 other journalists, he was placed under city arrest. After his release, Mercado joined the United Nations, serving in Thailand and Italy.
Throughout his distinguished career, Mercado received numerous accolades.
These include “Journalist of the Year” from the Manila Rotary Club (1968), “Opinion Writer of the Year” (2004), and multiple recognitions from the Catholic Archdiocesan Commission for Mass Media and the Society of Publishers in Asia.
In 2012, Globe Telecom’s Cebu Media Excellence Awards named him “Columnist of the Year.”
He was also honored as an Outstanding Alumnus in Journalism by the University of San Carlos, received the “Garbo sa Sugbo” plaque from the Province of Cebu, and was cited among the “50 Men and Women of Science” by the Department of Science and Technology in 2008 for his science and development writing.
His legacy lives on in the institutions he helped build, the journalists he mentored, and the readers he informed. For his family, his children remembered him as someone who lived a long, full, and meaningful life.
Mercado’s inurnment is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Friday, July 18, at the Alliance of Two Hearts parish.
https://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/juan-l-mercado-passes-away-at-94
