Robredo, former mayor of Naga City, Camarines Sur, was the first Filipino mayor to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service in 2000.

President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III appointed on Friday former Naga City Mayor Jesse M. Robredo as the Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary.

Aquino signed Robredo's appointment as DILG Secretary, a post concurrently held by the President for more than a week, yesterday afternoon.

The Aquino administration has yet to issue a statement on Robredo’s appointment as of press time but the President had earlier described him as “very qualified to handle so many portfolios.”

“Jesse is a multi-awarded local executive. He has advocacies like checking the informal settler problem. In Naga, they don’t talk of theories but of actual accomplishments. They were able to provide opportunities outside Naga. That is obviously one of the skills he brings to the table,” Aquino said in an earlier interview.

Robredo, former mayor of Naga City, Camarines Sur, was the first Filipino mayor to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service in 2000.

He was first elected mayor in 1988, making him the youngest city mayor of the Philippines at 29. Under his leadership, Naga was named one of the “Most Improved Cities in Asia” by Asiaweek Magazine in 1999.