DR. GLORIA J. MERCADO

GLORIA JUMAMIL-MERCADO, PhD, MNSA is a Philippine public-sector leader, academic, and development-security specialist whose work focuses on China, Taiwan, Indo-Pacific geopolitics, national security, and the development-security nexus. She currently serves as Commissioner of the National Commission for Senior Citizens and was Chairman and CEO of the Asian Center of Excellence in Development and Security (ACEDS). She previously held senior government positions as Deputy Cabinet Secretary in the Office of the President and Senior Undersecretary at the Department of Education. She was also Senior Vice President for Development Education of the Development Academy of the Philippines and concurrent Dean of the Graduate School of Public and Development Management, . She also chaired the Philippine Government Implementing Panel involved in the implementation of the Bangsamoro peace agreement. Dr. Mercado holds a PhD in Mainland China Studies from National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan and a Master in National Security Administration (MNSA). She is also a Commodore of the Philippine Navy Reserve and the Philippine Representative to the ASEAN Women Peace Registry. Her scholarship and policy work examine Philippine-China-Taiwan relations, the West Philippine Sea, hybrid and gray-zone challenges, the First Island Chain, national resilience, and regional security cooperation. In 2026, she served as a Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs Post-Doctoral International Fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR), where her research explored emotional legitimacy, national sentiment, and Philippine-Taiwan security cooperation amid geopolitical and hybrid-security pressures.

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