President Aquino on Friday appointed Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas as the new chief of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
Roxas, 55, an economist and president of the Liberal Party (LP), will take over the position vacated by the late DILG chief Jesse Robredo who died in a plane crash last August 18.
Speaking to reporters, Aquino said Roxas was on top of a short list of candidates as Robredo’s replacement even before they had confirmed that he had died in the crash.
“When Secretary Robredo was missing, we had to entertain the possibility [of a replacement]. I told Mar that he was first on my shortlist in case we had to replace Jesse,” the President said.
“Hindi naman pwedeng patagalin ang pagtakbo ng gobyerno. Kailangan siguraduhin natin yung functions na hindi nagawa ng naitalaga ay ipasa na kaagad sa isang tao na magpapatuloy sa magandang naumpisahan ni Jesse,” he added.