After the resignation of lawyer Ivan Uy as secretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), another lawyer in the person of current DICT undersecretary for special concerns Paul Joseph V. Mercado was named by Malacanang on Monday, March 10, as officer-in-charge of the agency.
The announcement somewhat came as a surprise since undersecretary for infostructure/management, cybersecurity and upskilling Jeffrey Ian Dy and undersecretary for e-government David Almirol Jr. were initially tipped to become OIC.
Unlike Dy and Almirol who both have extensive tech backgrounds, Mercado has not been seen or heard discussing the various issues and projects that the DICT has taken up since his appointment as a high-ranking official. In fact, Dy appeared to have taken the reins at the agency just a couple of days after Uy’s abrupt departure when he announced the massive overhaul of the agency’s free Wi-Fi program.
From his online profile, Mercado appears to have practiced as an associate attorney at a local law firm after passing the bar examinations in 2015. He finished his law studies at the San Beda College of Law in Mendiola, Manila and his undergraduate degree in political science from the Ateneo de Manila University.
In 2018, he served the chief legal officer of the Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives during the term of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. He was subsequently appointed as undersecretary during Uy’s term as DICT chief.
