One of Jesse Robredo’s priorities as head of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) is to make the agency transparent and more accountable.

“Ninanais po namin na maging transparent ang local government units. Satransparency and accountability ay dapat kaming mauna (We want all local government units to be transparent, so we have to set an example)," Robredo said Sunday in an interview on radio dzBB.

Robredo, former Naga City mayor, said one of the measures that he would implement is to make public the DILG’s expenditures and procurements.

“Iyong budget po ng DILG, lahat ng procurement, lahat ng tungkol sa pera na aming ginagamit ay kailangang malaman ng mamamayan (All our expenditures and transactions will be open to the public)," he said.

He said President Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III’s campaign platform “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap (Corruption breeds poverty)," will be the governing policy among the DILG’s attached agencies such as the Philippine National Police, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, and the Bureau of Fire Protection. 

Robredo’s appointment as DILG chief was announced last Friday.

Former Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno is set to turnover his post to Robredo this week. 

Robredo began his career in public service after he left his executive position at San Miguel Corp. during the term of Aquino's mother, the late President Corazon Aquino administration to head the Naga Bicol River Basin Development Program in Naga City. He was elected Naga City mayor in 1988.

Under Robredo’s leadership, Naga City became a model first-class city. In 1999, Asiaweek named Naga City the “most improved city in Asia." The following year, Robredo received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service. 

He had been awarded the Konrad Adenauer Medal of Excellence as Most Outstanding City Mayor of the Philippines in 1998 and received other accolades before that.

Along with former Isabela Gov. Grace Padaca and former Pampanga Gov. Ed Panlilio, Robredo spearheaded the formation of the Kaya Natin! Movement, an organization for good governance and ethical leadership, in 2008. 

The group backed Aquino's 2010 presidential bid. - Sophia Regina Dedace/KBK, GMANews.TV