Pia Cayetano joins Duterte transition team

Sen. Pia Cayetano. (Photo: JOSEPH VIDAL/PRIB)

DAVAO CITY – Outgoing Senator Pia Cayetano has joined the transition team of presumptive President Rodrigo Duterte to ensure a “gender-balanced” government.

Cayetano is in the city to meet with the six-man transition team.

The members of the transition team include Duterte’s executive assistant Christopher Go, Leoncio Evasco, Duterte’s national campaign manager; Peter Laviña, Duterte’s spokesperson; businessman Carlos Dominguez, the campaign finance chief; and lawyers Salvador Medialdea and Lorieto Ata, who served as legal team head and deputy, respectively.

Laviña said that it was not too late to correct what he called the “unfortunate” fact that the transition team was composed of men. The team started meeting in a hotel here on Wednesday.

Cayetano said she was invited to join the group to make sure that women would have a voice in the new administration.

But she said women’s participation should not be measured in the actual number of women in the Cabinet or in key government positions.

“At the end of the day, whether it is a man or a woman occupying that top-level position, we want to be sure that that person is gender-sensitive,” she said.

She said they would have to make sure that every Cabinet cluster “will have the voice of women there.”

“We want to see the voice of women in the economic cluster, the infrastructure cluster,” she added.

The existing bureaucracy has “so many in-grown talents that are waiting to be discovered, and a lot of them happen to be women,” according to Cayetano.

“We have to give them that opportunity,” she said.

The senator also cited the “living examples” of policies and programs in Davao City.

She was referring to the city’s Women Development Code, the creation of Children’s and Women’s Desk in police stations, and the appointment of lawyers to assist victims of violence against women, among others.

Laviña said the transition team, in its meeting Wednesday, has included women in its shortlist of possible officials of the Duterte administration. He, however, refused to divulge the list.

“We cannot announce until the mayor is proclaimed winner,” he said.

Laviña cited “shared vision,” integrity, ability and willingness to sacrifice as the criteria for being included on the list.

“These people should be willing to make a personal sacrifice to serve government with a reduced income,” he said.  SFM/rga