President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday swore in Dr. Edwin Mercado as Health secretary and Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho as president and CEO of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.

Malacañang said Mercado no longer needs new “marching orders” from the President, having served as PhilHealth chief since February 2025.

“Ang sabi ng Pangulo sa kaniya, hindi na siya dapat pang bigyan ng panibagong marching orders dahil kabisado na niya po ang nais ng Pangulo,” Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said.

Castro said Marcos expects Mercado to focus on Filipinos’ health needs and ensure health workers receive assistance and payments due to them.

Mercado succeeds Jose “Brix” Pujalte Jr., who stepped down for health reasons.

Before joining PhilHealth, Mercado held leadership posts in several hospitals and worked as a consultant for the Asian Development Bank and Zuellig Family Foundation. He was also part of the Department of Health’s Strategic Advisory Group for Universal Health Care Implementation.

He earned his medical degree from the University of the Philippines Manila and pursued graduate studies at Harvard Medical School and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Ho, meanwhile, succeeds Mercado at PhilHealth. She previously served as chief health officer of Ayala Healthcare Holdings Inc. and held several posts at the DOH, including undersecretary and assistant secretary.