Department of the Philippine Government

The department is currently led by the Secretary of the Interior and Local Government, nominated by the President of the Philippines and confirmed by the Commission on Appointments. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet. The current Secretary of the Interior and Local Government is Mel Senen Sarmiento.

History[edit]

The DILG traces its roots in the Tejeros Convention of March 22, 1897. As the Department of the Interior, it was among the first Cabinet positions of the proposed revolutionary Philippine government, wherein Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo was elected President. The leader of Katipunan's Magdiwang faction, Andres Bonifacio, was originally elected Director of the Interior in the convention, but a controversial objection to his election led to the Magdiwang's walk-out and his refusal to accept the position. Gen. Pascual Alvarez would be appointed as Secretary by Aguinaldo on April 17, 1897, during the Naic Assembly.

The Department of the Interior was officially enshrined on November 1, 1897, upon the promulgation of the Biak-na-Bato Republic, with Isabelo Artacho as Secretary. Article XV of the Biak-na-Bato Constitution defined the powers and functions of the Department that included statistics, roads and bridges, agriculture, public information and posts, and public order.

Following the American occupation in 1901, the Department of the Interior was among the four departments created by virtue of Philippine Commission Act No. 222. Americans headed the department until 1917, when Rafael Palma was appointed by Governor-General Francis Harrison following the passage of the Jones Law. The Interior Department was tasked with various functions ranging from supervision over local units, forest conservation, public instructions, control and supervision over the police, counter-insurgency, rehabilitation, community development and cooperatives development programs.