Presumptive President Rody Duterte's transition committee said they'll fill cabinet posts like Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's. What does that mean?
"We ideally want to follow Justin Trudeau's cabinet in Canada wherein sectors are properly represented," said Duterte spokesperson Peter Tiu Laviña [Rappler].
ThinkingPinoy leapt for joy when he first read that Rappler article. However, TP feels that many Filipinos are not familiar about the Canadian Government, aside from the fact that their leader looks like Prince Eric in Disney's The Little Mermaid. Napakapogi naman nga kasi talaga. Hence, TP decided to write an article describing Trudeau's cabinet, including short bios of some of the ministers. Let's go.
Towards Gender Equality
There are 15 Men and 15 women in Trudeau’s cabinet, a first in the Canadian History [Guardian]. This is not just a lame attempt at affirmative action, as some women ministers were given very powerful posts, such as:
- Chrystia Freeland is Minister of International Trade, roughly equivalent to the PH DTI Secretary.
- Jody Wilson-Raybould is Minister of Justice and Attorney-General, roughly equivalent to the PH Department of Justice plus the position of Solicitor-General.
The image below shows the men and women comprising Canada’s Cabinet.
Minority Representation and Religious Diversity
Of the 18 cabinet ministers that declared their religious affiliations:
- 5 are Atheists (McKenna, Duncan, Yves-Duclos, Garneau, Qualtrough)
- 1 is a Muslim (Monsef)
- 1 is a Jew (Carr)
- 5 are from Protestant denominations (Philpott, Brison, Foote, Goodale)
- 3 are Sikhs (Chagger, Bains, Sajjan)
- 3 are Catholics (Dion, McCallum, Trudeau)
- 4 are of Indian ancestry
- 1 is Inuit (the correct term for Eskimo; an Indigenous People’s group)
- 1 is Kwak'wala (another Indigenous People’s group)
- 1 is an Afghan refugee.
- 1 is openly gay (Brison)
- 2 are PWDs (Hehr, Qualtrough).
The image below shows the religious affiliations of each minister. Those who declined to declare religious affiliation were covered with large rectangles:
A Technocracy of the most badass human beings
Tagalugin ko lang ng mabilis: Syet ang lulupit ng ibang mga minister ni Trudeau. Putang ina, lulupet talaga.1: The War Refugee
Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef arrived in Canada at age 11 after fleeing war-torn Afghanistan with her widowed mother and two sisters [Globe&Mail]. She grew up with a first-hand understanding of the horrors of war and forced migration.
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| Monsef (bottom left) used to be like one of those kids. |
2: The Canadian Rambo
Defense Minister Harjit Singh Sajjan is one major badass. He was deployed once to Bosnia-Herzegovina and thrice to Afghanistan, for which he was awarded the Order of Military Merit for reducing the Taliban’s influence in Kandahar Province [National]. Yes, he’s basically Rambo.
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| Pangulong Digong, heto na ang karibal mo. |
3: The Quadriplegic Superman
Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr is quadriplegic [CalgaryHerald], meaning he is virtually paralyzed from the neck down after being a victim of a drive-by shooting. In Pinoy slang, parang nabiktima siya ng riding-in-tandem. And who better understands the needs of Veterans than someone who was a victim himself?
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| Veteran's Affairs? Empathy, guaranteed. |
4: The Paralympian Sports Minister
Sports Minister Carla Qualtrough is a three-time Paralympic Games bronze medalist: once in Seoul 1988, and twice in Barcelona 1992. She also was the legal officer of the 2012 London International Paralympics Committee [VancouverSun]. If Pacquiao were just as literate as she is, TP wouldn’t mind his winning a Senate seat.
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| A real athlete that leads athletes. Awesome! |
5: A Climate Change Advocate for a Science Minister
Science Minister Kirsty Duncan, Ph.D., was part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change the won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize alongside former US President Al Gore. About a decade ago, she led a “planeload of impatient, paternalistic” scientists in a death-defying expedition to Svalbard in the Norwegian Artic. Yes, just a few hundred miles from the North Pole [NatGeo].6: The Transportation Minister who's a real-life Astronaut
Transport minister Marc Garneau was Navy ensign who became first Canadian Astronaut to fly in outer space when he served as a payload specialist on Shuttle Mission 41-G in October 1984. Half a decade later, he was named Deputy Director of the Canadian Astronaut Program [GC]. Jeez, Canada’s transport minister knows how to transport stuff to outer space!
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| Hiyang-hiya naman ako kay DOTC Sec. Abaya. |
7: 4Ps on hyper-drive
Families, Children and Social Development Minister Jean-Yves Duclos is a veteran economist. Regarding his role on poverty reduction, Duclose currently working on a proposal to provide all Canadians with “a minimum income regardless of their employment status”, basically enhancing Canada’s already-remarkable social safety nets [Globe&Mail].
So how will a Trudeau-esque Duterte cabinet look like?
Of course, we can't just look for clones of Trudeau's ministers. TP does not expect Duterte's ministers to be as accomplished as Canada's. However, based on what TP knows about the current Trudeau cabinet, TP believes we can expect the following in Duterte's cabinet:- An equal or near-equal number of men and women.
- Cabinet heads will be relatively young and vibrant (below 50 years old)
- A technocratic selection process, where positions are offered to those who have the most relevant knowledge and experience.
- Equal or near-equal representation from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
- Muslims, LGBTs, and other minority groups will be represented.
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