FULL: New DOH chief Edwin Mercado lays out plans for healthcare system | ABS-CBN News

Making healthcare more accessible, improving the patient experience, and using digital technology to connect the country's fragmented health system are among the top priorities of newly appointed Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Edwin Mercado. Mercado takes over the agency following the resignation of former Health Secretary Jose "Brix" Pujalte Jr., whose tenure lasted less than a month. But he said he is not beginning from scratch. Before becoming health secretary, Mercado served as president and chief executive officer of PhilHealth, where he pushed reforms aimed at expanding healthcare access and improving efficiency. Those initiatives, he said, will now be scaled up across the entire health sector. Taking over as PhilHealth President and CEO is Dr. Beverly Ho, who sat alongside Mercado in this sit-down interview with ABS-CBN News. — Interview by Raphael Bosano, ABS-CBN News FULL STORY: https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/health-science/2026/8/20/doh-chief-edwin-mercado-eyes-more-accessible-digitally-connected-healthcare-system-1339 For more ABS-CBN News videos, click the link below: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgyY1WylJUmgy6PGn5--qRRixkhltg5hE For more News Digital News Raw Cuts, click the link below: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgyY1WylJUmiOw9mcoSbzoyp25AAZAAdn For more Breaking News & Live Coverage videos, click the link below: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgyY1WylJUmgG2ln-vtKXb-oLlGEZc3sR For more latest news and analysis from ABS-CBN News videos, click the link below: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgyY1WylJUmjA30dKUQCDlG7vy38QQk-Y Subscribe to the ABS-CBN News channel! - http://bit.ly/TheABSCBNNews Watch full episodes on iWantTFC for FREE here: http://iwanttfc.com Visit our website at http://news.abs-cbn.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abscbnNEWS Twitter: https://twitter.com/abscbnnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abscbnnews #DOH #EdwinMercado #ABSCBNNews