Atty. Benjamin “Benhur” De Castro Abalos, Jr.
Secretary
Department of Interior and Local Government

Atty. Benjamin “Benhur” C. Abalos, Jr. is the Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government. He has served as the Chairman of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and as Mayor and Congressman of Mandaluyong City.

While serving as the local chief executive in Mandaluyong, Secretary Abalos also held concurrent positions as President of the League of Cities of the Philippines from 2007 to 2010 and of the Union of Local Authorities in the Philippines.

He also served as a lecturer at the University of the Philippines-National College of Public Administration and Governance, Development Academy of the Philippines, and the Local Government Academy.

When he was the local chief executive of Mandaluyong, the city has garnered several prestigious awards. Notably in 2015, the LGU received the United Nations Public Service Award, Galing Pook Awards in 2013, the Presidential Award for Most Child-Friendly City in 2011, and the Seal of Good Local Governance, 2014-2015.

Additionally, his kind of leadership also earned the city the Kabalikat Award for Local Government Unit, bestowed upon the city by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) NCR; and his city was recognized as a Pioneering Leader in Green Building Program by the International Finance Corporation World Bank, a program later adopted by the Department of Public Works and Highways.

As a public servant, Secretary Abalos has been awarded as the Most Outstanding Mayor by the Senate, the House of Representatives, and leading universities in the country. He is the man behind the slogan “DEEDS, NOT WORDS” (GAWA, HINDI SALITA), which has been a trademark governance approach that he hopes will inspire other local leaders in providing genuine public service.