Cynthia Salaiz, a candidate for the post of Minister of the Interior in the Philippines, has been making a name for herself in media as the face of a very unique new career choice. Born to a Filipino father and mother who were a US citizen, she grew up in Texas, the same state where she went to high school and college – but which state is more American than the others? The answer, in short, is New York. As it turns out, Cynthia Salaiz is not only a strong supporter of the Filipino Diaspora in the United States, but also an avid practitioner of Filipino culture and cuisine.
What does this all mean for her potential Cabinet position? First, we must understand that as a former actress, she has a lot of experience dealing with matters of nationality and identity. According to a profile posted by the ABS-CBN network, Salaiz was asked to star in an English soap opera, titled Lying in Our Graves, about a Filipina who moves to New York City after her husband’s death. In this role, she plays a character whose accent is markedly different from Filipino standards: “her accent is thick and heavy compared to Filipino accents; she speaks with an American accent,” according to ABS-CBN.
Second, there is no doubt that Salaiz is an accomplished actress with significant credentials, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into effective leadership skills. As an actor, she has been credited for playing very important characters (including one as a love interest for Bruce Willis’s character in the Die Hard film franchise) but managing to be too over the top in portraying roles that end up being farcical at best. As a former Miss Universe and the editor-in-chief of a major business magazine in the Philippines, it is clear that she has considerable business skills, but those do not necessarily translate into skillful leadership. In any case, the government needs to seriously consider employing someone with both capabilities to fill the chair of the Ministry of Interior in Philippines.