Laban ng Masa presidential and vice presidential bets Leody “Ka Leody” de Guzman and Walden Bello will appoint women and lesbians, gays, bisexuals, trans, queers, intersex and others (LGBTQIA+) to fill more than half of all positions in cabinet.
“The Cabinet is the closest advisers of the President,” De Guzman said.
“We never had a lack of competent leaders from the women and LGBTQIA+ sectors. But why is it that for the longest time, they are underrepresented or even not represented?”
Among those De Guzman and Bello are considering inviting to their cabinet are former chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and former social welfare secretary Judy Taguiwalo.
The list also includes progressive civil society leaders such as public health advocate Eleanor Jara, women’s health activist Princess Nemenzo, anti-debt campaigner Lidy Nacpil, informal workers leader
Flor Santos, indigenous people’s rights activist Beverly Longid, environmentalist Ipat Luna, journalists Inday Espina-Varona and Marites Vitug, feminist thinker Aida Santos, academic activists Marivic Raquiza and Melay Abao, and prominent civil society organizer Zena Bernardo Bernardo.
Bello, who is also chairperson of Laban ng Masa, said: “Of the 37 people who served as cabinet secretaries during the term of Ferdinand Marcos, only two were women, one of them being Imelda Marcos. Under Duterte, there were only 3 women out of 35.”
Also being eyed to take up key Cabinet-level posts are long-time gender equality activists Danton Remoto, Monique Wilson, Rossana Abueva, and Alex Castro as well as academics Nathalie Africa-Verceles and Andoy Evangelista.
De Guzman said placing more women and LGBTQIA+ in cabinet positions would cement the priority of women’s and LGBTQIA+ rights and concerns in the agenda of a PLM-Laban ng Masa administration.
Laban ng Masa’s platform pushes for “marriage equality” or same-sex marriage.
“This commitment would be among the urgent measures our administration would immediately take after being sworn into office,” De Guzman said.
Other items in the tandem’s legislative agenda include addressing the gender wage gap, and ensuring that reproductive and care work are appropriately compensated and widely accessible.
There are only about 14 countries that have 50 per cent or more of their cabinet positions filled by women, none of which are in Asia, De Guzman added.
