Door open to women in Duterte administration, Pia Cayetano says

Senator Pia Cayetano is going to have a critical role in the transition committee of Davao City Mayor and presumptive President Rodrigo Duterte.

Duterte spokesperson Peter Laviña said that the incoming Taguig congresswoman was asked to guide and help the transition committee to identify and suggest women leaders and academicians for various government posts.

“I know for a fact that there are women who are qualified for any of the positions. What I want to ensure is as early as the selection process, the names of these women-candidates are given," Cayetano said in a press briefing in Davao City on Thursday.

"It is important that we have a gender-balanced leadership, that the voice of women are heard, that the concerns of women are addressed at the highest level. Because after that, it will flow,” she added.

Cayetano said that the transition team would  do everything to make sure that the best women are selected for government positions.

“I would also say that it is not limited to any particular cluster. Women are perceived as active in social concerns, and that is true, but many women are qualified for any position. And I know for a fact that the door is open for women in this administration,” she said.

Duterte during the campaign period was slammed by women’s groups for his jokes and pronouncements that were perceived as anti-women.

But his party mates defended him by pointing out his achievements in promoting women's welfare in Davao City.

They cited the city's enactment of the Women Development Code that guarantees socially-disadvantaged women equal opportunity and protection. —Trisha Macas/NB, GMA News