Meet Art Joseph Francis Mercado, Mayor of Lungsod ng San Pedro, Laguna
At 5-feet 9-inches, possessing movie star good looks, Art Joseph Francis Mercado belongs to the new generation of young mayors in the country that have swept the polls since the last elections.
Social media was first to notice their emergence—the likes of Mayor Vico Sotto of Pasig City, Mayor Mark Alcala of Lucena City in Quezon province, Mayor Francis “Kiko” Dy of Echague town in Isabela, Mayor Arth Brian Celeste of Alaminos City in Pangasinan, and a host of recently-elected, oh-so-handsome mayors in their late 20s and early 30s.
Mercado was only 32 years old when elected as Mayor of San Pedro, Laguna in June 2022, garnering an impressive 78,255 votes against his rival’s 39,529 votes.
Unlike most of his millennial political peers, he is not the scion of a politician. Neither does the Mercado name carry the history of a deeply entrenched political dynasty. Not yet, at least.
For origins, Mercado is the grandson of Artemio A. Mercado and Josefina Alon-Alon Mercado.
He was born in San Pedro on May 22, 1990.
The Mercados have been in the multi-million-peso business of owning and operating bus lines for 56 years.
Starting in 1968 with JAM Liner, the clan experienced the cycles of boom-and-bust in the industry, preferring to sell and diversify the business, as the years saw to the faithful training of future Mercados in the bus liner enterprise.
EARLY PREPARATION
At 17, Mercado was already working as part-time auditor—checking and monitoring purchase orders, as well as income and expense reports—of another family-owned bus enterprise, Greenstar Express.
His proficiency in Math and love for study translated to excellent academic standing when he graduated from high school at the De La Salle Zobel School in 2006.
Mercado traveled to the United States in 2008 to enroll in Fullerton College in California for a course in Economics.
A Dean’s Lister, with an acumen for Business Calculus and Algebra, Mercado transferred to the University of San Francisco (USF) in 2009, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude in Economics in 2011 at the age of 21.
While at USF, Mercado’s relevant course work included Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Econometrics, Accounting, Economic Development, Model Federal Reserve, Banking and Financial Institutions, and Monetary Economics.
Being born to an affluent family that led to a comfortable life in the U.S. did not stop the young Mercado from venturing outside of his school to learn more about his surroundings first-hand.
SOCIAL JUSTICE
In 2009, he volunteered for GLIDE, a nationally recognized, Christian center for social justice in San Francisco, “dedicated to fighting systemic injustices, creating pathways out of poverty and crisis, and transforming lives.”
As volunteer of GLIDE’s Daily Free Meals Program, Mercado personally served three nutritious meals a day—including bag dinners—to the poor, homeless, and hungry in San Francisco.
It was his first time to closely witness impoverished folk facing hunger and deprivation in a country as rich and as powerful as America.
Realizing that the struggle to make ends meet was a fate met by the poor in any part of the world brought back memories of his childhood in San Pedro.
GLIDE gave free meals to help those in need. His family’s business provided jobs to many ordinary folk in San Pedro, and even the whole of Laguna. He remembered the kids he played basketball with in his early youth; children of bus drivers, mechanics, and administrative personnel employed by JAM.
With his education and exposure to social justice work, it was a humbling realization to Mercado to actually be in a position to responsibly help those who need help the most.
LOVE & PUBLIC SERVICE
While still in college at the University of San Francisco, Mercado met his future wife, Mikhaelle “Mika” Viernes, herself a USF Economics major, who graduated summa cum laude to Mercado’s magna cum laude.
They got married by civil wedding in May 2014, followed by a church wedding on Feb 17, 2015. Between them, the Mercado couple has been blessed with two children, Sofia Noelle Viernes Mercado, 9 years old, and Noah Emmanuel Viernes Mercado, 7 years old.
It can be said that at every important juncture of Mercado’s political journey— City Councilor (2016-2019), Vice Mayor (2019-2022), and Mayor (2022-2025)—his wife, Mika has been there to lend a helping hand.
Over the years, the generosity of the Mercados have been made manifest in the various acts of charity rendered to socio-civic organizations and religious groups.
The family has donated its own real estate properties to set up a basketball court and a day care center for the benefit of San Pedrenses, as well as the Rotary Club of Metro San Pedro.
But more than charitable works, Mercado sees his stint as San Pedro Mayor as a chance to breed a culture of democratized, systematic public service for his constituents.
“Naghahangad ako ng isang San Pedro na kung saan ang serbisyo ay lapat sa tao, at hindi na kakailanganing lumapit pa sa kahit na sinong pulitiko para makahingi ng tulong. Lahat ng tao ay maseserbisyuhan. [I aspire for a San Pedro capable of rendering needed public service, without the people needing to approach a politician for help. Basic services should reach all the people],” he said.
In this new system of governance, Mercado added: “Dahil kayo ang naglagay sa amin sa aming mga pwesto bilang mga public servant, dapat lamang bumalik sa inyo ang tiwalang ibinigay niyo. Mula sa tao, para sa tao. Ang pera ng taumbayan, ay dapat bumalik din sa taumbayan at hindi para lang sa iilan [Because you (the people) elected us as public servants, we need to ensure that the trust the people gave to us is returned. From the people, for the people. Public funds must be used for the benefit of the people, not for the interests of a few].”
