Biography 
Marine Colonel (Reserve) Gloria Mercado is a senior consultant to the National Security Adviser and a convener of the Local Peace and Security Assembly, held in 12 regions all across the country. She is also a senior fellow for development and security at the Development Academy of the Philippines, a government-controlled corporation that provides consulting, technical assistance, training, and professional education opportunities and conducts policy research. After teaching 50 students each year since 1993 at the National Defense College, from senior military officials to top executives in the bureaucracy, Dr. Mercado noticed that the conflict and a high incidence of poverty both persist. Dr. Mercado, a two-term president and chair of the board of the NDCP Alumni Association, decided to get involved in peace building initiatives at both the policy and grassroots levels. Dr. Mercado, a lecturer on the modern Chinese economy at Ateneo de Manila University, is also a founder and managing trustee of the Magis Initiative for National Development and Security, a think tank and national security training institute. She holds a PhD in mainland China studies from the National Sun Yat-sen University in the Republic of China (Taiwan), a master’s degree in national security administration from the National Defense College of the Philippines, and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of San Carlos. She served in the Philippine Foreign Service for six years. (01.2009)